Photo By Capt. Jeffrey Dallin Belnap | CAMPREDLEG, United Arab Emirates—Sgt. 1st Class. Clint Markland briefs U.S. and...... read more read more
By Sgt. 1st Class Clint Markland
65th Field Artillery Brigade Public Affairs
CAMP REDLEG, United Arab Emirates – Breaking down language barriers and building trust across national boundaries plays an important role in the ability of countries to come together and perform. The 65th Field Artillery Brigade (FA BDE) showcased its ability to bridge that communications gap by participating in Operation Tropic Thunder, a bilateral exercise held at multiple locations throughout the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This event brought together elements from three Emirati and three U.S. field artillery battalions, exercising every echelon of artillery.
“Tropic Thunder was a bilateral field artillery command post exercise that tested the ability of the U.S. and UAE to integrate cannon and rocket fires,” said Maj. Brett Anderson, lead planner for Tropic Thunder. “This event provided the opportunity to demonstrate interoperability between the U.S. and UAE and develop improved tactics, techniques, and procedures for bilateral artillery operations.”
Interoperability plays an important role when two countries work together. In a bilateral operating environment, understanding a partner nation’s capabilities translates to success on the battlefield. Exercises like Tropic Thunder teach commanders critical lessons on working with partner nations and achieving common goals.
“We communicated through interpreters and the default language was English,” said Capt. Cody Anderson, commander of Bravo Battery, 1st Battalion, 121st Field Artillery Regiment. “Each side had soldiers with specific language skillsets that enabled detailed conversation. This skillset is invaluable. Having solid language skills is like having a third hand when it comes to interoperability. It is a key enabler.”
Tropic Thunder exercised the ability to control fires at a brigade level. The UAE 7th Corps artillery and U.S. 65th FA BDE orchestrated the event by developing intelligence reports, controlling operations, and processing fires down to the lowest level.
“The goal of the operation was to create a base we can build upon, and create long-lasting relationship that both nations can benefit from,” said Spc. Cole Shephard, fire control operator for the 65th. “We taught them the way we do things, and they taught us the way they do things. I believe both sides learned a great deal, and overall it was a great success.”
This herculean exercise took months of planning. Tropic Thunder planners worked diligently to create a robust exercise that integrated U.S. and UAE field artillery forces. Tropic Thunder included personnel from the following units: UAE 7th Corps artillery, UAE 79th HIMARS Regiment, UAE 74th Cannon Regiment (109), UAE 72nd Cannon Regiment (G6 Rhino), U.S. 65th FA BDE, 1-121 HIMARS battalion (BN), 1-145th PALADIN BN with enablers from the 2-222nd PALADIN BN, and Charlie Company 101st Expeditionary Signal Battalion. The artillery units were spread over four locations throughout the UAE presenting challenges in synchronizing fires, communications, and command and control over space and time.
When asked about the challenges of Tropic Thunder and bilateral interoperability, Capt. Jerod Hansen, liaison officer to the 72nd Canon Regiment, said, “Our systems are not designed to interface with each other … We overcame the challenge of the systems gap by bridging them with manual processes with the use of liaison officers and fire direction personnel.”
The success of Tropic Thunder opens the door for future exercises of even greater complexity between U.S. and UAE artillery units. The operation reaffirmed relationships, built interoperability, and recognized the mutual trust between these two great nations.
| Date Taken: | 09.29.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 12.27.2018 06:16 |
| Story ID: | 305227 |
| Location: | AE |
| Web Views: | 78 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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