MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- Master Sgt. Paul Noel has devoted his 17 years of Air National Guard service to military intelligence and recently shared his expertise with the Qatari military through the National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program (SPP).
Noel, an intelligence specialist for the 167th Operations Support Squadron, was one of seven U.S. military representatives to provide training to the Qatar Military Intelligence and Security Authority, March 12-16, in Doha, Qatar.
The training focused on joint military doctrine and the critical role military intelligence analysts play in supporting joint operational planning and the process of Joint Intelligence Preparation of the Operational Environment (JIPOE).
Noel, who conducted joint planning and JIPOE during his deployment to Kandahar, Afghanistan, incorporated his experiences into the course material.
“The benefits of participating in the training is you get to share your experience with another military force that truly wants to learn the material and values your expertise on the subject,” said Noel.
Maj. Allen Jordan, WNVG’s SPP-Qatar bilateral affairs officer, coordinated the course through U.S. Central Command, joining with WV National Guardsmen Noel and Lt. Col. Nathaniel King along with subject matter experts from each of the military services in the CENTCOM Area of Responsibility.
The week-long training culminated in a tabletop exercise using the JIPOE process to support a humanitarian evacuation operation.
“The training was an overwhelming success and continues to help foster and build relationships between the WVNG and the Qatar Armed Forces through the State Partnership Program,” said Noel.
The West Virginia National Guard partnered with Qatar in 2018 through the SPP and has been continually building.
Through the partnership with Qatar, the WVNG seeks to increase military diplomatic cooperation, and to develop and expand defense capabilities and mutually beneficial training interactions. In addition, the two entities work closely together to increase interoperability of forces, and to deter and disrupt criminal and terrorist activities in the region.