Source: The New Rep
By Stavros Atlamazoglou ·
Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists have stormed a cruise ship full of unaware tourists somewhere in the Eastern Mediterranean. The U.S. Special Operations Command Europe has been alerted and swiftly deploys its SOF units to Greece. There, the American commandos link up with their Greek counterparts and prepare to storm the vessel.
This is just one of the many scenarios that U.S. and Greek SOF units will have to deal with during Jackal Stone 18, SOCEUR’s annual readiness exercise. The exercise will take place on the island of Crete.
But there is some drama — Greeks invented the concept, after all, and it would be unfitting if it was absent from the event — behind the organisation of the exercise. The Greek military’s Joint Special Operations Command (DEE) was supposed to co-organise Jackal Stone 18 in conjunction with SOCEUR.
The Greek Interior Ministry, however, argued that since the exercise will have a distinct counter-terrorism character, it is supposed to fall under the Hellenic Police’s jurisdiction (as in the U.S., domestic emergencies are dealt by the law enforcement and not the military).
There was considerable backlash from the Greek Ministry of Defence. In the end, however, the Interior Ministry’s argument prevailed, and SOCEUR planners had to plan and coordinate with the Hellenic Police. Nonetheless, Greek military SOF units will be participating in the event but in a more limited role.
Read more at: https://thenewsrep.com/111135/isis-terrorists-have-just-hijacked-a-cruise-ship-greek-and-us-sof-train-for-contingencies/