Операция "Спартанский Щит". Мини расследование.

Сначала я прочел новость на сайте центрального командования. Там мелькнуло название операции "Спартанский щит".
Brig. Gen. John Epperly, 29th Infantry Division Deputy Commander, visited Soldiers from the 43rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment and the 12th Cavalry Regiment March 26, 2017, in Bahrain as part of an Operation Spartan Shield battlefield circulation. Soldiers from air defense and support elements briefed Epperly on their mission and their area of operations. Epperly presented Soldiers with coins of excellence for a job well done.
Ongoing operations include the missions in Afghanistan and Iraq, previously described; the Multinational Observers mission in Egypt; and Operation Spartan Shield conducting regional engagements in much of southwest Asia. As you can see, a similar level of activity is occurring in the other combatant commanders' areas of responsibility as well.
http://www.centcom.mil/MEDIA/NEWS-ARTICLES/News-Article-View/Article/115...

Меня это удивило потому, что возник конфликт в мозгу, на периферии память подсказывала, что дело было не в Бахрейне. По моим данным операция "Спартанский щит" прошла давно. А именно в 2014 году и была просто региональными учениями в Кувейте.
Soldiers, Company B, 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Bradley Fighting Vehicle during a squad dismount gunnery at Udairi Range Complex, Camp Buehring, Kuwait, Feb.10, 2014. The Bradley Fighting Vehicle is designed to bring Soldiers to a fight while also providing lethal firing support. The 2nd ABCT, from Fort Carson, Colo., is deployed to Kuwait in support of Operation Spartan Shield to support regional partners with operational missions, bilateral, multilateral military exercises and theater security cooperation activities in the CENTCOM area of responsibility.
https://www.facebook.com/pg/USMilitaryPage/photos/?tab=album&album_id=363323827142168

Оказалось я ошибался. Покопавшись в сети вдруг увидел что операция идет и на нее выделяются деньги.
Ongoing operations include the missions in Afghanistan and Iraq, previously described; the Multinational Observers mission in Egypt; and Operation Spartan Shield conducting regional engagements in much of southwest Asia. As you can see, a similar level of activity is occurring in the other combatant commanders' areas of responsibility as well.
https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript-View/Article/654292/...

Что за военная операция в юго-западной Азии? О чем речь? Сначала всплыли данные что операция шла уже в 2009 году.

Затем всплыли еще одни данные от 2015 года
FORT BENNING, Ga., (July 8, 2015) -- Soldiers, Families and friends gathered at Freedom Hall July 2 to farewell the 463rd Medical Detachment (Veterinary Service Support). The unit deployed in support of Operation Spartan Shield.
The unit will be based in Kuwait and teams of Soldiers will deploy to Qatar, Jordan, Iraq and Afghanistan to provide food defense, ensuring the food supply is safe, and veterinary services for all assigned in the Central Command area of operations.
https://www.army.mil/article/151868/463rd_Medical_Detachment_deploys_in_...

Потом другие данные от 19 октября 2016
More than 450 soldiers from the 29th Infantry Division are mobilizing for federal active duty in the Middle East, officials announced Wednesday. 
The soldiers, who belong to both the Virginia and Maryland Army National Guard, are deploying to provide mission command for more than 18,000 troops supporting Operation Spartan Shield and theater security cooperation in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.
https://www.armytimes.com/articles/more-than-450-guard-soldiers-to-deplo...

В статье от декабря 2016 проявилось количество участвующих и страны дислокации
another 13,000 or so are deployed to support Operation Spartan Shield, which includes Kuwait, Qatar and Jordan.
https://www.armytimes.com/articles/soldiers-around-the-world-send-holida...

Где штаб и кто командует?
Генерал-лейтенант Майкл Гаррет. На воздушной базе Shaw в Южной Каролине плюс прямая связь со штабом в Кувейте.
Lt. Gen. Michael Garrett, the commanding general of ARCENT. “Every single day, we engage with our 18 partner nations.” 
ARCENT, which has its headquarters at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, as well as a headquarters element in Kuwait, also is responsible for providing basic life support such as water, power, communications and medical care for more than 20,000 service members, civilians and contractors across the U.S. Central Command area of operations, he said.
http://www.defensenews.com/articles/interview-lt-gen-michael-garrett-us-...

Затем в Иорданию передислоцирован и перепрофилирован штаб из Кувейта
In Jordan, the 29th Infantry Division headquarters, from Virginia and Maryland, assumed command of the military’s joint operations center there to support Operation Inherent Resolve, Abrams said. In December, the division also will assume responsibility for a “brand-new requirement” for a division headquarters to be fully employed in Kuwait to support U.S. Army Central and Operation Spartan Shield, he said.
http://www.defensenews.com/articles/forscom-commander-we-are-not-in-an-i...

Что входит в команду операции? Механизированная бригада, авиа бригада, охрана и логистика.
Q. What else does your command do?
A. We also conduct Operation Spartan Shield, the operation that is focused on maintaining a presence in theater. It allows us to execute our contingency plans if something happens this evening, but it also allows us to engage with our partners as well.
We have an armored brigade combat team, a combat aviation brigade, an air defense brigade, [and] logistical commands. 
Our challenge is that we do have them for a specific mission, but we’re also in support of daily combat operations that take priority.
For us, it’s balancing our day-to-day priority requirements to support the fight with our other requirements.
http://www.defensenews.com/articles/interview-lt-gen-michael-garrett-us-... 

В 2015 году бюджет операции составил 445 с половиной миллионов долларов. На "способность США побеждать в конфликтах на Ближнем Востоке. Защищать, и готовить "партнеров" для атак".
The Operation SPARTAN SHIELD (OSS) force allows U.S. Army Central (USARCENT) to contribute to the U.S. Central Command mission imperatives of Counter, Protect, Defend
and Prepare while simultaneously building partner capacity.  This operation allows USARCENT to meet the requirements described in the 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review which
states that the U.S. is committed to ensuring it has the capability to win decisively in conflicts in the Middle East.  For budgeting purposes these activities are included in the FY 2016 Overseas Contingency Operations request.

Итак. Помимо спецопераций проводимых USSOCOM и общеизвестной операции борьбы с ИГИЛ коалицией стран под названием Operation Inherent Resolve, уже несколько лет идет не сильно афишируемая операция, проводимая Армией США под кодовым названием "Спартанский щит" в рамках которой производится финансирование, поддержка, защита, сирийской оппозиции и различных антиправительственных банд называемых "партнерами". В которой задействовано до 15000 человек с бюджетом в 445 миллионов долларов. В качестве дежурных сидит механизированная и авиа бригады, осуществляя поддержку.