ADAZI, Latvia - As co-director of Saber Strike 2014, Maj. Gen. Mark McQueen, used his skills and expertise on conducting multinational operations to encompass NATO allies in a cohesive exercise environment during a training exercise across the Baltic States from June 9-20.
As co-director, McQueen stated that his goal was to establish an exercise that was beneficial to the Baltic States and all partner nations participating.
“We provided a competitive and dynamic environment with an intent to challenge commanders, staffs and Soldiers with the final objective being for them to perfect and hone their skills, so they can operate in an austere environment,” said McQueen.
Saber Strike is a U.S. Army Europe-led, joint, multinational military exercise designed to promote regional stability, strengthen international military partnerships, enhance multinational interoperability and prepare participants for worldwide contingency operations.
Participating countries include the Baltic Nations of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, as well as Canada, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Poland, the United Kingdom and the U.S., creating a force of approximately 4,500 multinational service members.
“Regardless of which nation they were from, the Soldiers really enjoyed working with and learning from each other,” said McQueen.
Saber Strike consisted of many training drills and field exercises with observer coach trainers evaluating Soldier’s skills, methods and capabilities. McQueen was involved throughout the exercise with troops ensured interaction with the service members to understand what skills, knowledge and opportunities the participants where having every step of the way. He toured the field training sites and spoke one on one with Soldiers about their experiences.
“It has been a great privilege to see these Soldiers train in an environment where all ten nations can learn together and be able to engage effectively with each other,” said McQueen.
This year marks the fourth Saber Strike exercise in the Baltic States.
McQueen stated that this year’s training focus was to help formations understand defensive operations, and then transition into offensive operations and begin their counter attack.
Throughout his many duty assignments and multiple overseas deployments, McQueen brings an array of experience to the training exercise.
“The significance of this exercise cannot be understated. It has helped our troops and our partner nations have the interoperability to perform drills together and hone their skills through complex and dynamic situations and prevail,” said McQueen.
| Date Taken: | 06.20.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 06.23.2014 05:44 |
| Story ID: | 133998 |
| Location: | ADAZI TRAINING AREA, LV |
| Web Views: | 53 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Maj. Gen. McQueen co-directs Saber Strike 2014, by SGT Sara Marchus, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
LEAVE A COMMENT