Photo By Staff Sgt. Syreetta Watts | Soldiers from 1st Light Infantry Company, 12 Light Infantry Battalion, 1st Light...... read more read more
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GRAFENWOHR, Germany – The soldiers from 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division had little time to rest after completing a month-long exercise at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center at Hohenfels, Germany, as they moved an hour north to the Grafenwoehr Training Area to conduct a multinational combined arms live-fire exercise Nov. 19.
The CALFEX was the culminating event for Combined Resolve V, a U.S. Army Europe-directed multinational exercise with more than 4,000 participants from 10 NATO and partner nations, providing a complex scenario that focused on multinational unified land operations while reinforcing the U.S. commitment to NATO and Europe.
As U.S. Army Europe’s largest live-fire exercise for 2015, the CALFEX required soldiers to conduct a combined arms breach while integrating mounted and dismounted maneuvers with artillery fires, AH-64 attack aviation, and close-air support from A-10 Thunderbolt II “Warthogs.”
The challenge for U.S. Army Lt. Col. James Embry, the commander for 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, was coordinating these assets at specific times and locations.
“For the CALFEX what I want battalion-wide is a synchronized effect upon the enemy,” said Embry. “I want the organization to prove we can deliver lethal massed effects of direct and indirect fires while integrating all the different enablers at critical points across the battlefield.”
Soldiers from Romania and the Republic of Georgia trained alongside the brigade throughout Combined Resolve. The units were able to identify challenges of integrating multinational units during exercises at Hohenfels and apply the lessons learned during the live-fire exercise at Grafenwoehr.
“Discovery learning in combat is never a good idea,” said Embry. “For most of the formation this was the first time they worked with any allies or partners, so finding out those little differences now during peacetime and during training allows us to identify any friction points or gaps and work together on solving them and getting fixes in place.”
Georgian Army 1st Lt. Beka Metreveli, a platoon commander for the Georgian 1st Light Infantry Company, 12th Infantry Battalion, said he learned a lot from the experiences and relationships made made during Combined Resolve.
"I would like to thank U.S Army Europe for this great opportunity that we have the ability to train with probably the best fighting force in the world, " said Metreveli. “To learn and share our experiences have been great so far, and I hope our partnership will continue.”
For an Army that has focused on counterinsurgency and stability operations over the last decade, the lessons learned and relationships built at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center during Combined Resolve are key to ensuring the U.S. Army is able to work side-by-side with our allies and partners to defeat any future threats.
“We focused mainly on training crews and training leaders [during Combined Resolve], but in effect what we were doing was training generations,” said Embry. “Those lessons are going to permeate throughout the years, and if training of this caliber keeps up, within a few years the formation is going to be right back to where it needs to be to handle decisive action.”
| Date Taken: | 11.19.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 11.20.2015 08:56 |
| Story ID: | 182426 |
| Location: | DE |
| Web Views: | 613 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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