International cooperation is key to interrupting the trafficking of materials used to make weapons of mass destruction and stopping the proliferation of nuclear arms, a Department of Homeland Security official said.

Mike Perron, program manager of intelligence and operations coordination for the Department of Homeland Security, described the aim of a recent multinational exercise called Leading Edge 2010 during a “DoDLive” bloggers roundtable yesterday.

Perron was one of many U.S. government interagency participants involved in the U.S. Central Command-hosted exercise, held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. More than 30 nations sent representatives to share ideas and gain knowledge on methods for combating weapons of mass destruction.

The exercise was important, Perron noted, because it takes an interagency approach — including customs and law enforcement — to be successful.

The three-day, table-top exercise included three phases. The first phase centered on visit, board, search and seizure interdiction missions, in which the U.S. Coast Guard Middle East Training Team provided training to boarding teams from other participating countries. An operational level phase was based at the port in Mina Zayed, and covered issues of customs, law enforcement and other security issues. This phase included static displays and live demonstrations. Next, was a strategic table top where questions about post interdiction issues were discussed with subject matter experts.

Leading Edge is one of more than 35 exercises that began with the introduction of the Proliferation Security Initiative, an international agreement created in 2003 under former President George W. Bush’s administration.

This year’s Leading Edge exercise, which concluded yesterday, elicited positive reactions from participants.

“I feel like this exercise demonstrated a lot of interagency and international cooperation,” Navy Cmdr. Tony Crego, of the joint staff strategic plans and policy directorate in the Combating WMD Division, said during the roundtable. “It sends a message to the proliferators that there’s a global network of nations, agencies and organizations that are committed to stopping proliferation around the globe,” he added.

Peron said he has seen the Proliferation Security Initiative evolve. “I’ve seen a great deal of evolution both in terms of the numbers, now up to 95 PSI-partnered countries, as well as with the interagency participation.”

Although this year’s scenario concentrated on a maritime example, future exercises are slated to focus on aerial and ground transport systems.

Cobra Gold, the largest multinational military exercise in the world, begins its 29th year of joint training and cooperation among six countries in the Asia-Pacific theater in Thailand on Feb.1.

Cobra Gold 2010 marks the first time South Korea will participate in the exercise.

“Thailand is one of our closest friends and partners in Asia, as well as being our oldest ally in Asia,” said Lt. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon, commander, U.S. Army Pacific. “The Cobra Gold exercise is the largest multilateral joint military exercise in the world.”

Sponsored by U.S. Pacific Command and the Royal Thai Supreme Command, the three-week exercise includes a command-post exercise, a series of medical and engineering civic-action projects and joint and combined field training. The exercise continues to serve as a venue to build interoperability between the United States and its Asia-Pacific regional partners.

The command-post exercise focuses on training a Thai, U.S., Singaporean, Indonesian, and South Korean coalition task force. The exercise also includes Japan participating within a United Nations Force staff. A team composed of representatives from Brunei, Chile, China, Germany, Laos, Mongolia, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Vietnam will observe the command-post exercise at the invitation of the Thai government.

Among Cobra Gold 2010’s objectives is Pacom’s rapid deployment of a joint task force and subsequent coordination with U.N. forces, with the aim of improving Pacom’s ability to conduct multinational operations and increase interoperability with partner nations, officials said.

In addition, officials noted, the military-to-military relationships developed during Cobra Gold exercises underscore a combined capability to face myriad issues in the Asia-Pacific theater, including terrorism, transnational threats, and humanitarian-assistance and disaster-relief efforts.

The largest India-U.S. military exercise wraps up. We’ve got an in-depth look. Plus, President Obama heads to Ft Hood to pay tribute to the 13 victims of Thursday’s tragic shooting.

With a massive display of firepower and teamwork, the U.S. and Indian armies finished their largest joint military exercise to date yesterday.

The exercise is dubbed “Yudh Abhyas,” loosely translated as “war preparation.”

About 250 U.S. soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 14th Cavalry Squadron, based out of Hawaii brought 17 of their Stryker combat vehicles and paired with the Indian army’s 7th Mechanized Infantry Battalion here at one of India’s premier military training sites.

Since Oct. 12, the two armies have swapped soldiers, shared equipment and traded war stories, officials said.

“That’s the most important aspect of this whole exercise — getting to know each other, getting to appreciate our cultures, and working together as a team,” said Army Lt. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon, the commander of U.S. Army forces in the Pacific.

Mixon and a host of Indian army generals traveled here Oct. 26 to view a culminating demonstration of firepower that offered up both the conventional battlefield power of the Indian’s T-90 tanks with the high-technology precision of the U.S. military’s tank killer, the Javelin.

Both infantries brought out their vehicles and weapons for a live-fire demonstration, and Indian helicopters dropped soldiers from both armies to join in the live-fire assault.

This was the largest deployment of the Stryker vehicle outside of deployments for war, and the Indian soldiers were eager to get a peek at its firepower and technical capabilities. The only restrictions were that the Indian soldiers could not drive the Strykers or use the high-tech communications network that manages the crew’s weapons.

Both armies traded firing their big guns on the range, and U.S. soldiers rode alongside their Indian counterparts in their infantry vehicle. A handful of Indian troops were allowed to fire the Javelin, a treat that many U.S. troops in the infantry have yet to experience.

The training started two weeks ago with simple handshakes among the soldiers and a display of the each army’s equipment. It quickly escalated to the two nations’ armies working side by side on complex maneuvers, some scenarios strongly resembling the types of joint operations troops see in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As opposed to joint military operations in which U.S. technology and firepower clearly positions itself as the superior force, the Indian army proved itself a capable force, teaching as much as it was learning, U.S. commanders on the ground said. The Indian army has long been fighting an insurgency, and brought new tactics to the table.

“The Indian army is a professional military force,” Mixon said. “I would be comfortable going with the Indian army anywhere, any time.”

The 2-14th returned from Iraq six months ago, and is slated to return in about nine months. This exercise is a ramp-up in training, as the unit prepares for larger pre-deployment training exercises such as those at the National Training Facility in California.

But while the U.S. troops leave this week with training under their belts that prepares them for their next deployment, the value of the training was integrating successfully with the Indian army.

“At the end of the day, the important part of the exercise is the future cooperation and the understanding between the two armies,” Mixon said.

The United States has sought to increase its military relations with India in recent years. Until now, most of the exercises in that effort have been smaller troop exchanges or command-level exercises using only computer-driven scenarios. This is the first time that a large number of boots on the ground have acted out those scenarios together.

“This is all about training with the Indian army, to enhance relationships so that we gain a greater understanding of each other. That’s really what this is all about,” the general said.

U.S. Pacific Command works regularly with other militaries on large-scale military operations, especially maritime.

Yudh Abhyas started in 2004 as the first conventional army-to-army training in India since 1962. In 2005, U.S. troops came to train at India’s counter-insurgency and jungle warfare school. In 2006, Indian troops went to Hawaii for training, and in 2007, troops traveled to Alaska. The exercise shifted back to Hawaii last year.

“We want to be able to work together as militaries,” Mixon said. “By us training together and getting to know each other, if there were a contingency, we would be better prepared to respond to that contingency. You cannot do that training here at the last minute.”

It’s the largest military exercise of its kind for host-nation Sweden. Pentagon.