Inside the Box: Saber Junction 2024 Reveals High-Stakes Military Training Involves Jumping into a Complex Conflict

Photo By Sgt. Jose Lora | U.S. Army paratroopers assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade report on a nearby drone and take cover during Saber Junction 24 in Hohenfels, Germany, Sep. 6th, 2024. Saber Junction 24 is a multinational rotational exercise designed to assess the readiness of the U.S. Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade to execute unified land operations in a joint, combined environment and to promote interoperability with more than 4,500 participants from the U.S. and Allied and partner nations at Hohenfels training area. The 173rd Airborne Brigade is the U.S. Army's Contingency Response Force in Europe, providing rapidly deployable forces to the United States European, African, and Central Command areas of responsibility. Forward deployed across Italy and Germany, the brigade routinely trains alongside NATO allies and partners to build partnerships and strengthen the alliance. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jose Lora)  

HOHENFELS, GERMANY

09.14.2024

Story by Capt. Jennifer French 

173rd Airborne Brigade

Hohenfels, Germany (September 4, 2024) — The skies over Germany were filled with parachutes as more than 500 paratroopers jumped into Saber Junction 2024, a massive combat training exercise led by the U.S. and involving ten other NATO Allies.
The training was all about working together. NATO was able to come together as a united fighting force despite differences in language, equipment, and strategies. It’s no small task with 3,000 U.S. soldiers and 600 troops from other countries, all working in sync with Italy-based 173rd Airborne Brigade at the U.S. Army’s Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany. The exercise ran from August 25 to September 19, 2024.
The training revolved around a fictional scenario where a smaller country is fighting to restore its government after being overtaken by a larger northern adversary with territorial ambitions. In this scenario, the 173rd Airborne Brigade operated under an Italian division headquarters.
One of the major challenges was distinguishing between enemy forces and civilians. The training area was packed with actors playing civilians—many hungry, desperate, and scattered across the battlefield. The enemy was hidden among them, making it crucial for us to get civilians to evacuate or seek shelter. Much like during a Florida hurricane, convincing people to leave their homes, even when their lives were at risk, was no easy task.
Helping to funnel civilians to safety were a diverse team of U.S. Army reservists attached to the 173rd Airborne Brigade—an engineer, a Microsoft cybersecurity manager, a project manager, a mayor’s bodyguard, and a police officer.
As for me, the 173rd Airborne Brigade’s Public Affairs officer, I was running a daily press conference and updating the town on the latest civilian casualties. Every hour was a race to get accurate information out as our adversary flooded the closed-circuit internet with anti-NATO propaganda. My goal was to make sure the press heard from us first, even if it meant scrambling to find an ethernet cable to send out the latest press release while under fire.
What did we take away from all of this? First off, military tactics really matter. How fast we can move undetected in the battle space can literally be the difference between life and death. We also learned that grit and perseverance are what help us push through each day. The enemy won't always have that same determination—some of the opposing force (OPFOR) soldiers even turned themselves in to U.S. forces, saying they were fed up with the poor pay and conditions under their own military. In the end, Saber Junction 2024 showed us that when it comes to defending liberty, we’re ready and willing to stand up for our NATO allies whenever the time comes."

About The 173rd Airborne Brigade:
The 173rd Airborne Brigade is the U.S. Army's Contingency Response Force in Europe, providing rapidly deployable forces to the United States European, African, and Central Command areas of responsibility. Forward deployed across Italy and Germany, the brigade routinely trains alongside NATO allies and partners to build partnerships and strengthen the alliance.

• Date Taken: 09.14.2024
• Date Posted: 09.14.2024 09:05
• Story ID: 480886
• Location: HOHENFELS, DE