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| Lieutenant General Osama Askar | |
|---|---|
| Name | Osama Askar |
| Native name | أُسامة عسكر |
| Birth date | 1956 |
| Birth place | Monufia Governorate, Egypt |
| Allegiance | Egypt |
| Branch | Egyptian Army |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Commands | Second Field Army (Egypt), Unified Command of East of Suez |
Lieutenant General Osama Askar
Osama Askar is an Egyptian general officer known for commanding the Second Field Army (Egypt) and for leading counterinsurgency and security initiatives in the Sinai Peninsula. He has been prominent in relations with regional actors such as Israel, United States, and Gulf Cooperation Council members, and in interactions with multinational institutions including the United Nations and NATO liaison elements.
Born in Monufia Governorate in 1956, Askar completed military schooling at the Egyptian Military Academy and advanced staff courses at the Nasser Military Academy. He undertook higher strategic studies linked to programs associated with the United States Army War College and professional development exchanges with the British Army staff colleges and French Armed Forces institutions. His formative years intersected with senior Egyptian figures such as Hosni Mubarak and contemporaries from the Sadat and Mubarak eras of Egyptian military leadership.
Askar's career spans service in armored and mechanized formations within the Egyptian Army and assignments in staff and operational planning at the General Command of the Armed Forces (Egypt). He held positions interacting with commands involved in historical conflicts like the Yom Kippur War and doctrinal developments tied to experiences from the Suez Crisis, leveraging relationships with officers educated alongside figures from the Arab League and security interlocutors from Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Askar contributed to doctrines informed by counterterrorism responses echoing lessons from events such as the Luxor massacre and the prolonged insurgency affecting the Sinai insurgency.
As commander of the Second Field Army (Egypt), Askar oversaw forces responsible for the northeastern theater bordering Gaza Strip and Israel and adjacent to strategic localities including Suez, Ismailia Governorate, and North Sinai Governorate. His tenure involved coordination with Egyptian defense institutions such as the Ministry of Defence (Egypt), liaison with the Multinational Force and Observers in the Sinai Peninsula, and operational synchronization with commanders from the Northern Military Region (Egypt) and Central Military Region (Egypt). Under his command, the Second Field Army engaged in combined-arms training influenced by doctrines from United States Central Command partners and tactical exchanges with the Israeli Defense Forces at liaison levels.
Askar led planning and execution of counterinsurgency operations addressing militants associated with groups active in the Sinai insurgency and linked to transnational networks such as ISIS affiliates and extremist cells tied to regional smuggling routes near Rafah. His operations entailed coordination with Egyptian security agencies including the National Security Agency (Egypt) and the Central Security Forces (Egypt), and cooperation with international partners like the United States Department of Defense, the European Union security missions, and bilateral contacts with Israel Defense Forces for border security and intelligence sharing. Measures implemented drew on tactics similar to multinational counterterrorism efforts seen in responses coordinated by the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS and reflected concerns discussed at forums such as the Cairo International Conference on Security.
Askar advocated structural reforms within force posture, logistics, and command-and-control arrangements akin to modernization initiatives pursued by the Turkish Armed Forces and influenced by procurement relations with suppliers like the United States Department of State (Bureau of Political-Military Affairs) and the Russian Ministry of Defence. Reforms under his purview emphasized integrated air defense coordination with assets comparable to systems procured from manufacturers in France and Russia, and improvements in battlefield intelligence using platforms analogous to those employed by NATO partners. His strategic outlook referenced regional security architecture debates involving the Arab League and the African Union.
Askar engaged in defense diplomacy through exchanges with military delegations from United States, United Kingdom, France, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates, and participated in trilateral and multilateral talks involving Egypt–Israel relations and Egypt–United States relations. He received visiting delegations from the Multinational Force and Observers and hosted liaison officers from the European Union Common Security and Defence Policy missions. His role intersected with international legal and treaty contexts such as the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty in matters of force deployment and coordination in the Sinai Peninsula.
Askar attained the rank of Lieutenant general and received military commendations from Egyptian institutions alongside honors exchanged during bilateral military interactions with delegations from United States and Jordan. His leadership has been noted in analyses by regional think tanks and military studies journals addressing Egyptian defense posture, counterinsurgency, and civil-military relations in forums connected to the Institute for National Strategic Studies and regional security conferences.
Category:Egyptian military personnel Category:1956 births Category:Living people