Photo By William King | A German officer assigned to the Bundeswehr's 282nd IT Battalion briefs U.S. Army Lt....... read more read more
WIESBADEN, Germany -- U.S. Soldiers assigned to the 102d Strategic Signal Battalion, 2d Theater Signal Brigade, met with Soldiers from their German partner unit, the Bundeswehr’s 282nd IT Battalion, Aug. 21, 2018, in Kastellaun.
The purpose of the meeting was for leaders of both units to discuss ways to further their partnership in the near future, and for the U.S. Soldiers to observe the German unit’s SYSNET exercise which has been ongoing since July.
U.S. Army Lt. Col. Oscar Tiglao, commander of the 102d Strategic Signal Bn., explained that despite the obvious differences of language, uniform and equipment, the two sides can more easily exchange information and best practices on IT issues.
“When it comes to the nucleus, the brains of the operation, we actually have a lot in common, we just use different tools to get there,” he said. “We have a lot to learn from them and I think it’s valuable for all of us to see how they approach problems.”
Tiglao explained that building personal and professional relationships with the German Soldiers benefits both units by addressing any capabilities gaps, leveraging new and different technology, and ultimately leading to enhanced readiness.
“Getting an understanding of how they maintain their readiness, how they do training management and how we might fight alongside with this element as a partner beforehand is the most important part so that we’re not going into things blind,” Tiglao said.
German Army 1st Lt. Christian Kugler, the 282nd IT Bn. Headquarters Company commander, has seen the partnership with the 102d Strategic Signal Bn. grow and develop quickly during the past four years.
“We came from in the beginning some shooting events, seeing how the other side does signal things, and we developed quickly to a real working partnership,” Kugler said. “You can see this in the number of shooting events, the German sports badge that we did, and we are getting more and more involved in the training aspects of the IT side, and it still continues to develop.”
He explained the greatest benefit of the partnership has been increased understanding.
“The main thing you have is understanding how the other side is working, getting a much wider look on things, and even showing the Soldiers before they go on an operation how the other side does things,” Kugler said. "Seeing how the Americans do it is really beneficial.”
Tiglao said the two units would work to synchronize their calendars and seek more opportunities for shared training.
| Date Taken: | 08.23.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 08.23.2018 03:58 |
| Story ID: | 289935 |
| Location: | WIESBADEN, HESSEN, DE |
| Web Views: | 430 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
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