The current slew of military exercises may offer training opportunities, but it is their political message that matters, writes Amirah Ibrahim A week after the 21 October celebration of Navy Day large scale naval manoeuvres -- Sea Victory 44 -- have begun. The exercises, too, are an annual event, originally instigated to mark victory in the 1973 October War. On Sunday Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) and Egypt's de facto ruler, joined one of 47 naval units taking part in the exercise 20 miles off Egypt's Mediterranean share, replacing ousted president Mubarak, a regular attendee. Prime Minister Essam Sharaf was also scheduled to attend the manoeuvres but was too involved in urgent government business. Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sami Anan and Navy chief Admiral Muhab Mameesh were, however, able to join aboard a naval destroyer. For more than two hours F-16 fighters, Sh2g planes and naval commandos took part in what was clearly intended as a show of strength. The exercises, the largest in two decades, were planned to showcase the navy's ability to secure maritime transportation routes, economic facilities on the shoreline, and to confront anti-naval units with surface to surface and depth to surface missiles. Naval units began the exercises by securing Alexandria's harbour and navigation routes against attack by frogmen. A second group inspected the harbour while others reported the movements of suspected pirates, reporting any threat to commercial shipping to central command. Minesweepers cleared navigation routes for friendly units while naval commandos intercepted a boat suspected of carrying illegal immigrants. There were fire-fighting and refuelling exercises. During the latter a frigate passed fuel to another whilst both ships were in motion. A flotilla of boats crossed in front of the frigate where Tantawi was watching. In a short speech aboard the frigate Toshka Admiral Mameesh praised the training received by navy personnel and the advanced equipment with which they are issued. "The Navy participates in a wide variety of missions," said Mameesh. "They include securing the country's harbours, the Suez Canal and oil and gas platforms from attack. We also participate in securing strategic facilities vital to the national economy. In addition, play a social role, helping combat maritime pollution and illegal immigration." October also saw the Second and the Third Armies involved in major exercises in the Sinai Peninsula. Tantawi and Anan attended the second exercise last week as troops and equipment were deployed across the Suez Canal. But why the sudden flurry of military exercises? The answer probably lies in growing opposition to military rule eight months after Mubarak stepped down. The SCAF's furious denials of any misconduct on the part of soldiers or military police in the 9 October clashes in Cairo that left 27 civilians dead have done little to reassure the public, leaving the military in need of serious PR. "Our troops are ready to defend the country against any hostilities. This exercise demonstrates our ability and readiness to defend the country and shoulder our responsibilities," said Tantawi. The wide-ranging exercises are expected to boost troop morale which has taken a battering as military personnel are assigned tasks outside their usual remit, and which they have at times been criticised of bungling.
