Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Zane Craig | Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 109th Field Artillery Regiment, 55th Maneuver...... read more read more
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FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. – Approximately 250 Soldiers with 1st Battalion, 109th Field Artillery Regiment, 55th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, 28th Infantry Division, Pennsylvania Army National Guard deployed to Lithuania in support of Defender Europe 22 and NATO exercise Flaming Thunder in May.
The 1-109th drew, employed and turned in Army Prepositioned Stock (APS) and conducted artillery live fires to increase interoperability with NATO partners, especially Pennsylvania's state partner, Lithuania.
“Up and down the battalion from our main efforts to our supporting efforts, everyone did an outstanding job and I’m really pleased with where we are,” said Lt. Col. Michael Tornambe, commander of 1st Battalion, 109th Field Artillery Regiment. “The battalion performed exceptionally well, we were able to maintain nine out of nine of our crews certified, we were able to achieve timely and accurate fires for effect, on target.”
The objective of the 10th exercise Flaming Thunder was to enhance fires skills and to assess units’ ability to complete live fire tasks effectively while creating the conditions for close cooperation of fire support units among NATO allies as part of Defender Europe 22. Defender Europe is an annual large-scale, U.S. Army-led, multinational and joint exercise designed to build readiness and interoperability between U.S., NATO and partner militaries.
The 1-109th had eight Soldiers acting as Liaison Officers (LNOs) in the multinational Joint Air Ground Integration Cell (JAGIC) essentially replicating a division headquarters, working closely with the Lithuanian Land Forces and the German Armed Forces according to Tornambe. The JAGIC provided fire missions to the LNO cell, which sent the missions to the battalion or battery fires direction centers, which sent them to the guns. Soldiers with the 1-109th performed 36 fire missions sending approximately 400 rounds downrange.
Defender Europe 22 included more than 3,437 U.S. and 5,193 multi-national service members from 11 allied and partner nations with operations conducted across nine countries.
The mission of the 1-109th in Lithuania consisted of; movement to Europe, drawing Army Prepositioned Stock (APS), executing fires in support of multinational partners, turning in APS, and movement safely back to the U.S.
“We’ve completed all of our objectives,” said Tornambe. “As a battalion, I’m really excited about where we are.”
He added that for many in the unit, this was their first trip overseas or overseas with the military.
“We had to make sure the Soldiers were not only medically ready, but also mentally and emotionally ready, so we took an active approach to communicating with the Soldiers and identifying issue,” said Tornambe. “We’re in the midst of graduation season for example, so we ensured expectations were set early and we ensured each Soldier was properly trained and properly equipped.”
The Pennsylvania National Guard is one of six state National Guards participating in Defender Europe 22 along with Maryland, West Virginia, Michigan, Illinois, and Colorado. The 11 participating nations include: Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
“We really appreciated the opportunity to come to Lithuania to display our proficiency; this was an outstanding chance for Soldiers to not only pursue a mission that may have been outside their comfort zone, but also be able to work with other nations,” said Tornambe.
| Date Taken: | 06.02.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 06.02.2022 16:11 |
| Story ID: | 422062 |
| Location: | FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 339 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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