Army Europe Air Defense unit begins combined missile defense exercise in Poland

Courtesy Photo | Polish soldiers explain to US Army Europe Soldiers how to load their missile system during exercise Panther Assurance 2015, March 21. Nearly 100 Soldiers from the 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment arrived at Sochachew, Poland, for a combined training exercise. The air defense Soldiers will train for several days with Polish troops from the 3rd Air Defense Brigade, outside of Warsaw. The US Army Europe based unit traveled 1200 kilometers with their 30 vehicles and other support equipment. (Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Randall Jackson, 10th AAMDC Public Affairs)  

SOCHACZEW, POLAND

03.21.2015

Courtesy Story

10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command

SOCHACZEW, Poland - American Soldiers from US Army Europe and Polish airmen kicked off their combined missile defense exercise during a short ceremony on March 21 outside of Warsaw, Poland.

10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command sent Delta Battery, a unit of their 5-7 Air Defense Artillery Regiment, to train with their Polish air defense partners in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve. The goal of the training exercise is to certify the Delta battery Soldiers on their Patriot ground-to-air missile systems, while coordinating the emplacement of the American and Polish air defense equipment to provide mutual air defense coverage in the area.

The battery was able to plan and execute their 1200 km convoy from U.S. Army Garrison Rhineland-Pfalz in Kaiserslautern, Germany, in a matter of days due to close cooperation with their Polish counterparts. “From the planning aspect, they had their objectives and we had our objectives, and we worked to nest them both together which was great,” said Capt. Jason Bryant, Delta Battery commander.

The training began immediately following the opening ceremony, with Soldiers moving and setting up their vehicles and equipment to establish their site with a goal of less than an hour.

“There's a lot of hard work that goes into this kind of exercise, and it takes everybody pulling together to get to where we are now, and I appreciate the teamwork that helped make this a success and to go so smoothly,”said the 5-7 ADA Command Sgt. Maj. George Clark.

Not only are the Soldiers required to set up within a short period of time, but they also had nearly 50 Polish and international journalists observing them at the same time during their Patriot system emplacement.

After the Soldiers completed their crew drill, they had time to talk with the Polish airmen who were located with their systems only 200 meters away. First the Polish came to learn about Delta Battery’s Patriots, followed by the Americans going over and practicing loading S-A-3 Polish rockets onto the launchers.

The exercise is slated to last through the week, with other coordinated movements between the Polish and American air defenders, and continued crew drills to ensure all are certified on their respective systems.

Even with all the hard work and short suspenses, the unit looks to the future. “I’d love to do this again,” said Bryant.

• Date Taken: 03.21.2015
• Date Posted: 03.22.2015 11:08
• Story ID: 157745
• Location: SOCHACZEW, PL