Task Force - East

Story by Sgt. Marla Keown

MIHAIL KOGALNICEANU AIRFIELD, Romania – Soldiers of the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment based in Vilseck, Germany, have been training for the past three months in Romania and Bulgaria as part of their preparations for an upcoming deployment to Afghanistan this spring.

U.S. Soldiers offloaded 30 Stryker combat vehicles in early August at the Mihail Kogalniceanu Airfield in eastern Romania and have since been conducting combined training with their host-nation counterparts. Soldiers of the 4th Squadron, 2nd SCR are participating in Joint Task Force-East's third annual training exercise in Romania while Soldiers of the 2nd Squadron, 2nd SCR conduct similar training in Bulgaria.

Approximately 450 U.S. Soldiers and support personnel from the 4/2 SCR are training side-by-side with members of the Romanian Land Forces 33rd Posada Mountain Battalion based out of Curtea De Arges, Romania, at the Babadag Training Area, about 75 km north of the Mihail Kogalniceanu Airfield.

Training side-by-side with Romanian and Bulgarian counterparts is not only an essential part of JTF-East's mission, but it's also helping U.S. Soldiers prepare for future deployments. "The training certainly got our Soldiers focused on operating in a combat environment and in particular working with one of our coalition allies," said the commander of the 4/2 SCR, U.S. Army Lt. Col. Boyle.

Soldiers from the 2nd SCR have been rotating every three weeks to Romania and Bulgaria since the second week of August and will continue through the end of October. The combined training facilitated by exercise JTF-East is an integral part of the overall goal which is to increase regional security cooperation, build interoperability capabilities and develop personal and professional relationships.

"We've definitely been working effectively with each other, which is great to see," said 24-year-old 1st Lt. Vicente "Vinsanity" L. Lynch, platoon leader, 1st Platoon, M Troop, 4/2 SCR. "They are a very strong army and it's great to use their assets and for them to use our assets as well," Lynch added.

Soldiers training at the Babadag Training Area in this year's JTF-East exercise have been conducting at least one mission a day during five-day rotations in the field. Typically leaders receive their operation orders during the day and then the teams load their Strykers and head for the sprawling hills of the Babadag Training Area immediately after their evening meal.

Troops usually train in the hours of darkness and into the early morning. Scenarios varied from search and rescue missions to setting up defensive positions to combined live fire exercises. Once completed, troops conducted after action reviews at all levels in order for Soldiers to refine execution techniques and make necessary adjustments for the next day's scenario.

"It's always cool to work with another nation's army and to see how they train," said Spc. James R. Blankenship, 26, an infantryman for O Troop, 4/2 SCR. The side-by-side training conducted here is intended to help Blankenship and his fellow Soldiers overcome similar language and cultural differences they may face when deployed to Afghanistan in the spring.

The 4/2 and 2/2 SCR and their host-nation counterparts will conclude the joint training at the end of October and return to their home stations. Soldiers of all three cycles have gained an understanding of one another's techniques and equipment, said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Neil E. Boekel, a squad leader for O Troop, 4/2 SCR. This is helping form a cohesion of Romanian, Bulgarian and American troops in operational regions, a main goal of JTF-East.

JTF-East continues to be one of the U.S. Army Europe's strategic priorities and plays a key role in the U.S. European Command's Regional Security Cooperation program.

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