Photo By Sgt. Bernabe Lopez | U.S. Army Soldiers with 3rd Battalion, 67th Armored Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade...... read more read more
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PABRADE, Lithuania – Multinational troops representing Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Lithuania and the U.S. including U.S. Army Soldiers with 3rd Battalion, 67th Armored Regiment “Hound Battalion”, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, conducted the Ramming Bull support exercise at Camp Herkus and Taurus, Lithuania, Nov. 18-29, 2023. Ramming Bull is a series of live-fire exercises conducted by the members of the NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group to test their readiness and cohesiveness while working with allies and contributing to the mission in Lithuania.
Ramming Bull was the third iteration of major exercises conducted by the 3rd Bn., 67th AR in Lithuania following a series of internal training events in October, and the Strong Griffin exercise conducted alongside Lithuanians during the first two weeks in November. The Ramming Bull exercise allowed the Hound Battalion to operate at a platoon, company and battalion level of live fire events alongside NATO allies that utilized main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. It was also an integrative fire support exercise for artillery systems such as mortars and the M109A7 Paladin howitzers, and for CH-47 Chinook helicopters providing the moving of troops and equipment.
“With exercises like this, especially on NATO’s eastern flank where we are going to train alongside our allies, we have to understand and appreciate we are going to fight on our left and right with Belgians, Germans, Dutch, Norwegians and Lithuanians”, said Maj. Steven Beckman, the operations officer for 3rd Bn., 67th AR, 2ABCT, 3ID. “And the better we can understand, while in peacetime, how to fight alongside them, is only going to serve us more if conflict comes to this part of the world.”
An important aspect about the Ramming Bull exercise is understanding how interoperability works between the NATO allies while learning how to integrate at a technical and tactical level and allow leaders to observe and help teach, coach and mentor peers and subordinates. The interoperability allows the NATO allies to test their direct and indirect fire assets through Ramming Bull and be integrated effectively on how best to utilize their forces – from battalion level down to the individual soldier – while seeing how a live fire looks from a multinational perspective.
“These types of exercises set conditions for both the United States forces here in Lithuania and our NATO allies to effectively respond to any challenge anywhere in the world at a moment’s notice”, said Beckman. “But only when you’re down in the mud, in the snow, that will break down those barriers and allow us to get to the heart of whatever needs to be done to set us up for success.”
Working alongside other NATO allies provides a multitude of training opportunities between the multinational troops and enables them to learn new and improved technical and tactical methods when utilizing shoot-move-communicate approaches in battle situations. Through interoperability, NATO allies can better understand each other and become an effective force for future outcomes.
“It’s important to do exercises like Ramming Bull because it shows we can work with our allies”, said 1st Lt. Anna Jerald, a platoon leader for Alpha Co., 3rd Bn., 67th AR, 2ABCT, 3ID. “We can grow a shared understanding across all our formations so we can better work with our partners in the future. One of the beneficial takeaways for my platoon is that we got to operate with our NATO allies and see that they are just the same as us. They were able to learn a lot of tactics from them, and they were able to operate in the snow which we’re not used to doing at Fort Stewart.”
“The big things coming out of this… is there is an increased appreciation that our Soldiers are seeing here that at the end of the day, as allies and members of NATO, that every citizen here throughout Europe that is from a NATO country is ours to defend as well as all of our American citizens back home”, said Beckman. “An appreciation for that, and working alongside our brothers and sisters in arms from other NATO countries gives some onus in weight to what that responsibility is and also trust that we have allies to our left and right that are willing to go out there and do the exact same thing for us. It has been an exceptional opportunity for the Hounds to get to train, [and] we’re excited to have culminated this series of exercises so we can transition into the holidays and get ready for more training in January.”
The 3rd Infantry Division’s mission in Europe is to engage in multinational training and exercises across the continent, working alongside NATO allies and regional security partners to provide combat-credible forces to V Corps, America’s forward deployed corps in Europe.
| Date Taken: | 12.01.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 12.01.2023 13:26 |
| Story ID: | 458882 |
| Location: | PABRADE, LT |
| Web Views: | 209 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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