SYNOPSIS:
NATO's new multinational battlegroup in Slovakia is now officially operational, following months of deployments and integration training. Troops from Czechia, Germany, Slovakia, Slovenia and the United States took part in exercise Strong Cohesion 2022, an exercise designed to run the battlegroup through its paces and prove its ability to work together as a unified command. At the conclusion of the exercise, a team of representatives from each country deployed with the battlegroup, declared the battlegroup was ready to assume its duties. The exercise ran from 20 to 22 September.
Following Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, NATO decided to establish four new multinational battlegroups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, while upgrading other battlegroups into formations capable of commanding a full brigade's worth of troops. These actions significantly bolster NATO's ability to deter and defend against any aggression in the eastern part of the Alliance.
Footage includes shots of battlegroup troops and armoured vehicles manoeuvring during the exercise, and interviews with Colonel Ladislav Bujárek, NATO battlegroup commander, and Captain Andrew Rebar, Manoeuvre Advisor Team Leader, US Army.
---SHOTLIST—
(00:00) WIDE SHOT – SCENIC VIEW OF THE LEST TRAINING CENTRE IN SLOVAKIA
(00:05) VARIOUS SHOTS – GERMAN BOXER MULTIROLE ARMOURED VEHICLES DURING EXERCISE STRONG COHESION 2022
(00:26) MEDIUM SHOT – GERMAN SOLDIER LOOKING THROUGH BINOCULARS
(00:32) WIDE SHOT – GERMAN SOLDIER FIRING A FLARE GUN
(00:36) VARIOUS SHOTS - GERMAN BOXER MULTIROLE ARMOURED VEHICLE DRIVES THROUGH A CLOUD OF SMOKE
(00:45) VARIOUS SHOTS – SLOVAK BMP INFANTRY FIGHTING VEHICLES MANOEUVRING THROUGH THE TRAINING AREA
(02:03) VARIOUS DRONE SHOTS (MUTE) - SLOVAK BMP INFANTRY FIGHTING VEHICLES MANOEUVRING THROUGH THE TRAINING AREA
(02:13) MEDIUM SHOT – CZECH INFANTRY FIGHTING VEHICLE PANDUR II HIDING
(02:16) VARIOUS SHOTS – CZECH INFANTRY SOLDIERS ON SPOTTING MISSION
(02:32) WIDE SHOT - SLOVAK BMP INFANTRY FIGHTING VEHICLE DRIVING THROUGH A CLOUD OF SMOKE
(02:36) VARIOUS SHOTS (MUTE) – GERMAN ARMOURED PERSONNEL CARRIER MOVING THROUGH THE TRAINING AREA
(02:47) VARIOUS SHOTS – US ARMY SOLDIERS MOVING THROUGH THE TRAINING AREA
(03:07) WIDE SHOT – US ARMY SOLDIER FIRING A RIFLE FROM A HIDING SPOT IN A FOREST
(03:11) VARIOUS SHOTS - US ARMY SOLDIERS MOVING THROUGH THE TRAINING AREA
(03:25) MEDIUM SHOT – US AND SLOVAK SOLDIERS WORKING TOGETHER
(03:29) VARIOUS SHOTS – US SOLDIERS STORMING A VILLAGE IN A SIMULATED EXERCISE
(03:44) MEDIUM SHOT – US AND SLOVAK SOLDIERS GOING OVER TACTICS TOGETHER
(03:47) MEDIUM SHOT – US SOLDIER ON THE LOOKOUT IN A SIMULATED EXERCISE
(03:52) WIDE SHOT – ENEMY FORCES HIDING IN A BUILDING IN A SIMULATED EXERCISE
(03:55) VARIOUS SHOTS - US SOLDIERS STORMING A VILLAGE OCCUPIED BY ENEMY FORCES IN A SIMULATED EXERCISE
(04:29) CLOSEUP SHOT – SLOVAK SHOULDER PATCH
(04:32) MEDIUM SHOT – US SOLDIER RESTING WITH SIMULATED INJURIES
(04:36) WIDE SHOT – US SOLDIERS SPOTTING THROUGH A WINDOW
(04:39) VARIOUS SHOTS – US SOLDIERS TRAINING IN A CHEMICAL ATTACK SCENARIO
(04:57) VARIOUS SHOTS - US SOLDIERS STORMING A VILLAGE IN A SIMULATED EXERCISE
(05:22) DRONE SHOTS (MUTE) - SLOVAK BMP INFANTRY FIGHTING VEHICLES MANOEUVRING THROUGH THE TRAINING AREA
(06:16) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – CZECH ARMY COLONEL LADISLAV BUJÁREK, NATO BATTLEGROUP COMMANDER
“Right now, we are in the middle of our deployment. So, just now, we just reached our first milestone. So, we just conducted this exercise and it’s a validation exercise which can just approve to our coalition partners that we are combat-ready.”
(06:31) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – CZECH ARMY COLONEL LADISLAV BUJÁREK, NATO BATTLEGROUP COMMANDER
“The name of this exercise is Strong Cohesion 22 or 22nd. The contributing countries are the Czech as the lead nation, Slovak as the host nation, Slovenia, Germany and the US Army, United States as the troop-contributing nation.”
(06:50) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – CZECH ARMY COLONEL LADISLAV BUJÁREK, NATO BATTLEGROUP COMMANDER
“And we have to be ready to provide protection or defence for the NATO entities and NATO units.”
(06:57) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – CZECH ARMY COLONEL LADISLAV BUJÁREK, NATO BATTLEGROUP COMMANDER
“The main goal of this exercise Strong Cohesion was to prove that the interoperability among the nations is working and just that we’ve reached the readiness and combat effectiveness.”
(07:09) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – US ARMY CAPTAIN ANDREW REBAR, MANOEUVRE ADVISOR TEAM LEADER
“I believe that security starts with being away from your own borders. You always defend away from your objective. And in order for NATO to secure itself, for America to secure itself, we have to work as one team and we have to spread as far to the outside borders as we can.”
(07:28) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) – US ARMY CAPTAIN ANDREW REBAR, MANOEUVRE ADVISOR TEAM LEADER
“The Battlegroup contributes to NATO’s defence by allying itself with each other and building a strong team, allowing us to learn from each other’s armies. And then also to fight in other terrains and build on each other’s strengths and then fill each other’s weaknesses.”
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