Photo By Staff Sgt. Michael Giles | Col. Colin P. Tuley, commander of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division...... read more read more
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HOHENFELS, Germany (June 15, 2016) -- Soldiers with the 1st Brigade Combat Team (1st BCT), 82nd Airborne Division from Fort Bragg, jumped into the Joint Multinational Readiness Center training area along with paratroopers from Allied nations June 15, 2016 here.
Nearly 1,100 airborne soldiers from seven nations, including the United States, Britain, France and Poland parachuted into Drop Zone Hohenburg here beginning at 11:00 a.m. as part of Exercise Swift Response.
The Hohenfels drop, which closely followed the 1st BCT’s drop into Poland, was both an exercise in speed and a demonstration of how quickly and effectively NATO forces can handle complex operations, said Col. Colin P. Tuley, commander of the 1st BCT. “It shows we can react and that our leaders are adaptable,” Tuley said. “It means our Soldiers can quickly move to different missions on a moment’s notice.”
The mission today was an enjoyable success, said Sgt. 1st Class Alexander Burnett, public affairs noncommissioned officer with the 82nd Airborne Division. “This airborne operation was an excellent opportunity for the paratroopers of the “All American” Division to partner with our French, German and English counterparts,” Burnett said. “We had beautiful weather, a gorgeous drop zone, and a sky full of canopies.”
Tuley explained that the 1st BCT is the ground component of the Global Response Force, which is capable of intervening anywhere in the world within 18 hours. He stated that today’s drop positively illustrated their ability to maintain this standard.
“It is the bumper sticker of readiness,” Tuley said. “You have a brigade that’s on an 18-hour recall and wheels-up standard—and they execute it within 18 hours—to a transatlantic flight, no stopping, in-flight rigging, in-flight fueling.”
Tuley also revealed that he sees this exercise as an opportunity to reassure the European community of their ability to defend it if necessary. “That this exercise really does is reassure our allies,” Tuley said. “What better way—when you look into a sky of paratroopers from multiple nations, training together, fighting together, winning together? That alone just exemplifies what this is all about.”
Brigade level air-to-ground missions are already difficult, said Lt. Col. Joe P. Buccino, 82nd Airborne Division public affairs officer, and they become far more complex when they involve the different methods and standards of other countries.
“I saw that complexity when I was in the air mission brief,” Buccino said. “It was honestly unlike anything I’ve seen in 20 years.”
Maj. Gen. Richard Clarke, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, said that performing exercises such as today’s drop brings complex challenges to light so that they can be resolved. “By doing this together, we’re practicing how we can make sure we understanding the complexities, and that we can overcome them when the time comes,” Clarke said.
| Date Taken: | 06.15.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 06.22.2016 09:15 |
| Story ID: | 202054 |
| Location: | DE |
| Web Views: | 316 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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