70th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

Story by Sgt. Ty Stafford

ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT -- From vast fields to jungles and now modern city landscapes the face of the modern battlefield has changed and will continue to change in the future.

One tool used by forces around the world to prepare for the shifting battlefield is Military Operations in Urban Terrain training. From room clearing techniques to individual soldier movement, MOUT training helps give soldiers a better understanding of how to win the fight in an urban environment.

Members of the 82nd Airborne Division's, 1st Battalion, 325th Infantry Regiment, recently helped train Egyptian and Pakistani forces in MOUT during Bright Star 2009/10 held in Egypt.

Operation Bright Star which is led by Egypt, the U.S. Central Command and Third Army/U.S. Army Central is the largest exercise in the region that began nearly 30 years ago as a military training exercise designed to build stronger bonds between the military forces of those nations as part of an ongoing series of exercises including airborne, aviation, naval and Marine field training exercises, along with a multinational command post battle-tracking exercise.

Using the Mubarak Military City, located near Alexandria, the U.S. Soldiers began training the coalition forces on room clearing procedures.

"We are training on how to properly enter and clear a room and to get a better relationship with Egyptian and Pakistani soldiers," said 1st Lt. William Ibrahim, 2nd Platoon leader, 1-325th Inf. Regt.

"The training is important so they can better understand how we do things. Most of the soldiers we are training are lieutenants and captains so they can go back and train their soldiers with what they learned when they get back to the unit," Ibrahim said.

The importance of the training was apparent on both sides of the line.

"It is very good but very hard," said Capt. Eslam Abdou Mohamuad, an Egyptian company commander. "This is a good way to exchange experiences on how to fight in the city and it is good to take experiences from other countries."

Sgt. 1st Class Gerald Rouse, platoon sergeant for 2nd platoon, added, "It's definitely different. I think it's great for the younger soldiers who haven't deployed yet to be able to work with foreign countries.

MOUT training lasted only one day but all soldiers involved were able to exchange experiences and helped build a new relationship which was a primary purpose of the exercise.

"Some of these guys speak English pretty well, so it's been pretty easy to talk to them," said Spc. Ahmed Atia, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Brigade Special Troop Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 82nd Abn. Div. "We are able to exchange knowledge." Atia, a native Arabic speaker, has family in Egypt and acted as an interpreter for the training.

"It's nice to come back here and hopefully see some of my family before I leave," he said.

Bright Star will continue building partnerships as it conducts a friendship jump with the coalition forces and will culminate in a computer-based command exercise. Planning for the next Bright Star will begin immediately after the conclusion of the exercise with all participants looking for growth in troops for the next event.

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