Members of the Special Emergency Forces perform rescue drills in Dharma, west of Riyadh, Tuesday. (Okaz photo)RIYADH: The Special Emergency Forces (SEF) performed its annual exercise Tuesday in Dharma, 25 kilometers west of Riyadh, in the presence of Prince Muhammad Bin Naif, Assistant Minister of Interior for Security Affairs. During the five-hour exercise the forces dealt with a scenario of pirates attacking an oil tanker. The tanker rescue involved two helicopters, one dropping solders on the ship and the other carrying snipers, backed up with speedboats. Another exercise that demonstrated the skills of the SEF soldiers was a simulated raid on terrorist sites inside a residential district. The raid involved teams on the ground and high-tech helicopters. Sources said the SEF has been given the additional tasks of dealing with airplane hijackings and piracy. Brigadier Khaled Al-Harbi, Commander of the SEF, said training is one of the most important pillars of the Kingdom's strategic management. Decision makers believe that the performance of security personnel is linked to good preparation, execution of security training programs and plans to confront every security challenge. It is important “to foretell future incidents based on past and current events,” he said. The rapid changes in social, economic, technical and other fields requires security training to become more advanced, he added.
