ADAZI, Latvia - Approximately 180 members of the U.S. Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade, along with Canadian and Latvian paratroopers and para-rescue forces, participated in a multinational airborne jump from 12th Combat Aviation Brigade UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters onto Unity Drop Zone here June 22, 2014.
“It’s a great opportunity to train with other countries and see how they operate and which tactics they use,” said U.S. Army First Lt. Graham Prosch, of the 173rd Airborne Brigade. “There are certain things we each excel at and we can grow together to complement each other strategically.”
The jump was the first opportunity for many of the U.S. Soldiers, as well as the Canadian and Latvian paratroopers, to jump out of a Black Hawk. The jumps used the static line method, which is when a cable connected to the jumpers’ parachutes pulls the parachute open automatically as they jump from the aircraft.
“Most Canadians have never gotten the opportunity to jump out of a helicopter, let alone a Black Hawk, which is a world-renowned helicopter, so this will be an amazing experience for us,” said Canadian Sgt. Benoit Robitaille, of the Royal 22 Regiment.
Members of the 173rd have been in Adazi, Latvia, for over 60 days training with Latvian troops, as well as several other NATO allies. This is part of continued exercises in the Baltic region, which is focused on strengthening NATO bonds through shared training and experiences.
“The significance of this exercise is the opportunity to gain experience and build communication with other countries,” said Lt. Sandis Kuklis of the Latvian army. “I hope after everything goes successfully with this jump, we will be able to do many more jumps together in the future.”
The 173rd Airborne, based out of Vicenza, Italy, serves as the Army Contingency Response Force for Europe. The 173rd has been training in the region with their NATO allies to sustain interoperability between military forces and demonstrate commitment to collective defense in the alliance.
Approximately 600 paratroopers from the brigade are in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland as part of a land-forces exercise to demonstrate commitment to NATO obligations and sustain interoperability with allied forces.
“Any jump has the potential to be fairly dangerous, which is why we place such a strong emphasis on safety and training,” said Prosch. “A lot of this training has to do with learning how our allies and partners work to better integrate in the future.”
Through these recent exercises, Canadian, Latvian and U.S. forces have shared techniques, tactics and best practices while jumping from military aircraft, firing on weapons ranges, and gaining a deeper appreciation for one another’s culture and military knowledge.
“It is important for the U.S. to work closely with our allies because it allows you to work out all the kinks and problems that can arise from putting an army together to enable us to work together more closely in the future,” said Prosch.
| Date Taken: | 06.24.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 06.25.2014 02:01 |
| Story ID: | 134312 |
| Location: | ADAZI TRAINING AREA, LV |
| Web Views: | 517 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Allied paratroopers continue NATO partnerships in Baltic region, by SPC Cassandra Simonton, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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