Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Diandra Harrell | SZECIN, Poland – Lt. Col. Gerard Acosta, director of logistics, 4th Infantry...... read more read more
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The NFIUs, which were formed last fall in eight NATO countries, will use the Saber Strike 16 exercise in conjunction with the NATO Brilliant Jump series to highlight their ability to handle a rapid multinational response should a threat to Eastern Europe arise.
Saber Strike 16 will feature 14 participating nations and runs from May 27 through June 15 in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The exercise also will include a 2,400-kilometer tactical road march by 2nd Cavalry Regiment from Germany to the Baltic region, called Dragoon Ride II.
This year, the long-standing U.S Army Europe-led cooperative training exercise will focus on promoting interoperability with regional partners in a variety of missions to prepare the participating nations and units for future operations in support of multinational contingencies around the world.
The staff exchange included leaders from Multinational Corps-Northeast (MNC-NE) and U.S. Army units working as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve.
“Saber Strike would provide us a good opportunity to validate our standard operating procedures that we have developed thus far as well as help us validate our (rapid-response) process to answer the questions, ‘Are we helping the units moving into our country?’ or ‘What can we do better?’ said Karale.
NFIUs have been active in Estonia, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, and Romania since Sept. 1, 2015. The NFIUs, which consist of 40 host-nation and NATO staff, are part of NATO’s adaptation to growing security challenges in eastern and southern Europe.
The purpose of the staff exercise in Poland was to plan for any future deployments of NATO very high-readiness joint task forces, which would be coordinated by a NFIU in the affected nation. These rapid-reaction forces could consist of up to 40,000 troops and deploy in as little as 48 hours.
“Our main purpose as NFIUs is to receive that brigade-sized element and facilitate the processes for deployment into our country. When we all unite, it gives us the opportunity to identify the problems in our processes or what may be delaying the process, so we don’t continue to make the same mistakes in the future,” said Maj. Liene Karale, J-3/5/7 Branch Head of J-3/5 Planning Section, NFIU Latvia.
Maj. Patrick Vardaro, 2nd Cav. Regt. plans and exercises officer, said Saber Strike 16 would serve as an ideal venue to test those processes and NFIU capabilities in a complex training environment. Key to that will be orchestrating the freedom of movement of units maneuvering through multiple Operation Atlantic Resolve countries, including Czech Republic, Poland and the Baltic states.
The staff exercise in Poland also served a greater purpose beyond a single exercise, said Maj. Royce Baker, chief of fires, 4th Inf. Div. Mission Command Element.
“This staffex gave us a chance to meet representatives from each NFIU and gain an understanding of how they have progressed thus far organizationally and receive a snapshot of their support to NATO and other U.S. exercises over the coming months,” Baker said. “It was a complete collaboration of thoughts and initiatives to help facilitate important discussions with our foreign counterparts.”
As the division-level headquarters for Army Europe, the 4th Inf. Div. MCE has mission command of all U.S. ground forces conducting multinational training and security cooperation activities in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve. It’s a role similar to what the newly formed NFIUs would assume should NATO rapid-reaction forces ever respond to regional threats.
Staffex participants included the MNC-NE; the MCE; 2nd Cav. Regt.; 3rd Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade; and 16th Sustainment Brigade.
“This is a great opportunity to meet face to face. It helps facilitate our ability to build a stronger partnership through shared information and experiences,” said Karale.
| Date Taken: | 04.04.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 04.04.2016 12:20 |
| Story ID: | 194303 |
| Location: | PL |
| Web Views: | 333 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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