Forces from the Republic of the Solomon Islands receive instruction on the FN FAL rifle from American Special Forces

Joint Combined Exchange Training or JCET programs are exercises designed to provide training opportunities for American Special Forces who are stationed outside of the United States by holding the training exercises in countries that the forces may one day have to operate in, as well as providing training opportunities for the armed forces of the host countries. Typically, each JCET program involved 10-40 American special forces personnel, though can sometimes involved up to 100 ^[1]. US Congress permitted the use of funds from the military budget to be used in overseas training such as JCET's in 1991, providing that the Secretary of Defence submits to Congress annually a report on overseas training activities. Motto: To Lead is to Serve Anthem: God Save Our Solomon Islands Royal anthem: God Save the Queen Capital (largest city) Honiara English Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Elizabeth II  - Governor-General Nathaniel Waena  - Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare Independence from the UK   - Date 7 July 1978  Area  - Total 28,896 km... The Fusil Automatique Leger, or Light Automatic Rifle (LAR). ... It has been suggested that Break action be merged into this article or section. ... For other uses of the term, see Special forces (disambiguation). ... For other uses of the term, see Special forces (disambiguation). ... The armed forces of a state are its government sponsored defense and fighting forces and organizations. ... The Congress of the United States is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States of America. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Begun in the 1970's, 1988 saw the expansion of JCET programs to Belgium, Denmark, West Germany and Italy, A Pentagon report from 1997, the year of a JCET in Equatorial Guinea, stated that a JCET program "involves small deployments of special operations personnel--sometimes fewer than a dozen troops--that conduct exercises jointly with foreign security forces to train the participants in a variety of areas that 'sharpen critical SOF mission essential task list...skills and enhance host-nation skills."^[2] In 1997, there were 101 JCET programs operating worldwide, with 95 operating in 1998^[3]. 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...

From 30 May to 30 June 2006 a JCET program was conducted by the U.S. military involving Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia^[4]. The course involved classes on "leadership and planning, rifle marksmanship and drilling techniques, close quarter battle and military operations in urban environments, small unit tactics, basic individual troop-leading procedures, and collective war fighting skills"^[5], with over 100 American personnel taking part. May 30 is the 150th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (151st in leap years). ... June 30 is the 181st day of the year (182nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 184 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Shooting is the act of causing a gun to fire at a target. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with MOUT. (Discuss) CQB, sometimes CQC, is an acronym for Close Quarters Battle or Close Quarters Combat, and refers to fighting methods within buildings, streets, narrow alleys and other places where visibility and maneuverability are limited. ...

American Special Forces training soldiers from The Philippines

Flintlocks

Elements of the 1st, 3rd or 5th Special Forces Group conduct JCET programs twice a year in Africa. Designed to give the special forces experience of fighting on the continent, these JCET programs are known as Flintlocks and vary from search and rescue exercises, disaster management, or combat life saving ^[6]. The funding for these programs is provided by the Department of Defence, with the locale being decided by Special Operations Command. A world map showing the continent of Africa. ...

Flintlock exercises provide an integral part of a Special Forces groups' annual training program. The 1999 Flintlock exercise being held in the African country of Cote d'Ivoire, with the projects running to a total cost of $63,000 ^[7]. The 2003 Flintlock, held in South Africa, had a total cost of $80,000. 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Flintlock 2005 ran from June 6 until June 26, having been planned since 2004 in North and West Africa, specifically Algeria, Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Niger and Chad, with forces from Europe, the United States and NATO taking part. The primary aim of the training operation was to increase the capability of African forces to halt the trade in illicit weaponry, anti-terrorism, as well as illegal goods and human trafficking, improving command, control and communications, marksmanship, medical skills and human rights knowledge. June 6 is the 157th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (158th in leap years), with 208 days remaining // 1508 - Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, is defeated in Friulia by Venetian forces; he is forced to sign a three-year truce and cede several territories to Venice 1513... June 26 is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 188 days remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... World map showing Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. ... NATO 2002 Summit in Prague The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation[1] (NATO), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, the Atlantic Alliance or the Western Alliance, is an international organisation for collective security established in 1949, in support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, DC, on 4 April 1949. ...

Controversy

An American Special Force operative lectures Indian special forces troops in their home country during a JCET

There is, however, concern that forces trained by American Special Forces go on to use their new skills to commit war crimes in their home countries and would pose a threat to the stability of the regions. Unlike other US military operations, there is no screening of foreign participants prior to their involvement with JCET programs, therefore JCET are thought to provide military assisstance the groups who would otherwise not qualify for aid due to their human rights records in accordance with the foreign aid appropriations bill. In the context of war, a war crime is a punishable offense under International Law, for violations of the laws of war by any person or persons, military or civilian. ...

There is concern that, as one of the directives of the 1998 Special Operations Forces Posture Statement indicates, the JCET's encourage the training of paramilitary forces to help combat lawlessness and insurgency, however there are fears that these forces could destabilise the local governments. One report on the subject states that "Militaries strengthened by the United States could end up toppling the very democratic governments that American policy makers want to keep in power."^[8] Particular scrutiny has been levelled at JCET's in Colombia and Indonesia (East Timor especially), the latter in particular as there exists a ban on all other military assistance to the region, and JCET's are the only permitted contact between US and indigenous forces ^[9] as all other training programs are not permitted on order of the House of Representatives. A paramilitary organization is a group of civilians trained and organized in a military fashion. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      House of Representatives is a name used for legislative bodies in many countries. ...

There are also concerns about full disclosure of JCET activities to the US Government from the armed forces, as the current reports to Congress (known as the Section 2011 report)^[10] are not required to mention JCET programs relating to counter-narcotic or anti-terrorism activities, however these form a large part of the worldwide JCET program, particularly in Latin America. There are also concerns that the report is incomplete due to problems with the definition of Joint Combined Exchange Training programs. Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ...

References

• http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/flintlock.htm
• http://www.fas.org/asmp/campaigns/training/JCET.html
• http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HZY/is_2_15/ai_89859340
• http://tirana.usembassy.gov/06pr_0530.html
• http://www.specialoperations.com/Focus/jcet.html
• Military Training: Management and Oversight of Joint Combined Exchange Training. Report, July 1999. (http://www.gao.gov/archive/1999/ns99173.pdf)