RIYADH: A military exercise based in the Kingdom and conducted by the Saudi Royal Land Forces and the US Army will continue throughout this month. The exercise is called “Commander 2019” and was launched on July 14 at the main exercise center at the King Khalid Military City in the Northern Borders region. It aims to develop and strengthen Saudi-US joint relations, and confirms the ability of the two to implement collective joint action to secure stability and security in the region. The region’s commander, Maj. Gen. Saleh bin Ahmed Al-Zahrani, toured the field of the exercise activities and attended the accompanying symposium, “Unifying Concepts for Managing Airspace.” Afterwards, he visited various participating units, exercise control and training simulations. The exercise’s training director, Maj. Gen. Mohammed bin Mohsen Al-Sanani, noted that training would largely focus on the integration of artillery brigades in joint operations, including coordinating with drones and air support.HIGHLIGHT The exercise is called ‘Commander 2019’ and was launched on July 14 at the main exercise center at the King Khalid Military City in the Northern Borders region. Recently, King Salman approved the hosting of US armed forces in Saudi Arabia to increase joint cooperation in defense of regional security and stability. The US Defense Department confirmed the move in a statement, saying it will deploy troops and resources to Saudi Arabia to “provide an additional deterrent” in the face of “emergent, credible threats.” Senior American defense officials said some US troops and Patriot air defense missile systems have already arrived at Prince Sultan Air Base, south of Riyadh.  The troops have been preparing for the arrival of aircraft later this summer as well as additional troops.