Kathmandu, Feb 26: Admiral John C. Aquilino, Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command, who is on a Nepal visit, is returning home today. Commander Aquilino accompanied by his spouse arrived in Kathmandu to observe the fourth edition of the ‘Avyas Shanti Prayas’ (Exercise Peace Effort) held in Panchkhal last Tuesday. He landed at the Tribhuvan International Airport at 6 pm on Saturday evening.
The army of one and a half dozen countries of the world, including Nepal, the United States, have participated in the special military exercise that will run until March 4. The joint military exercise with the Global Peace Operation Initiative aims to strengthen the skills and interoperability among troops contributing countries to the United Nations peacekeeping missions, it has been said.
During the visit, he met with Nepal’s top political leaders including Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Purna Bahadur Khadka.
The visiting member military team consisting of 18 military personnel including Commander Aquilino, and four crew members boarded the US Air Force call sing SPAR 13 aircraft. The team comprises Laura Aquilino, Captain Melvin Smith, Lt Col Norm Renfro, Rich Berry, Jason Mobley, Carl Garman, Andrew Friel, Dr Oliver Lee.
Similarly, other team members are Captain Kailey Raines, Shannon Smith, David Rodriguez, Garrett Atherley, Daijiro Kanase, David Ranz, David Isom, Crystal Szymanski and Hamilton Rullan Contessa.
