Stryker Soldiers begin bilateral training exercise in India

Photo By Staff Sgt. Mylinda Durousseau | Soldiers from 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division and the 2nd Battalion, 9th Ghurak Regiment of the Indian army take part in the opening ceremonies for exercise Yudh Abhyas 14 at Chaubattia, India Sept. 17, 2014. The exercise is sponsored by U.S. Army Pacific and is geared toward enhancing cooperation and coordination through training and cultural exchanges and building skills and relationships necessary during a peacekeeping operation. This year’s exercise is scheduled to take place Sept. 17-30 at Ranikhet Cantonment, Utterakhand, India. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Mylinda DuRousseau, 1/25 SBCT Public Affairs)  

RANIKHET CANTONMENT, INDIA

09.17.2014

Story by Maj. David Mattox 

1st Brigade, 11th Airborne Division

RANIKHET CANTONMENT, India – Soldiers with the U.S. Army’s 5th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment and the Indian army’s 2nd Battalion, 9th Gurkha Rifles stood together in formation on a parade field nestled high in the mountains approximately 200 miles northeast of Dehli, India, as part of the opening ceremony for the annual bilateral training exercise known as Yudh Abhyas, Sept. 17.

This U.S. Army Pacific-sponsored exercise is geared toward enhancing cooperation and coordination through training and cultural exchanges which help build the skills and relationships necessary during a peacekeeping operation. This marks the tenth year of this exercise.

The U.S. troops from 5-1 Cavalry and staff members of the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division traveled from Fort Wainwright, Alaska, to meet and work with the Soldiers and officers of the Indian army’s 99th Mountain Brigade and 2/9 Gurkha Rifles.

“The intent of this exercise is to become good friends that can think together and solve global issues,” said the Indian Army’s assistant senior exercise controller.

Yudh Abhyas 14 provides excellent opportunities for professional and cultural exchanges, teamwork, expanding common ground, sharing, learning, training and creating friendships.

Scheduled training includes expert academic exchanges on regional security, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and special operations. During the expert academic exchanges, field training and command post exercises will be conducted simultaneously.

Members of the California National Guard as well as civilian observers from around the world are helping facilitate the exercise. Each element is expected to provide a different perspective to the complex issues of peacekeeping operations today.

For the 1/25 SBCT brigade staff, the exercise is an opportunity to experience a simulated UN peacekeeping mission, something the staff has not seen despite their 12 years of experience in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“I have no experience in UN peace keeping missions and I hope that [my Indian army counterpart] will be able to teach me a lot about UN peace keeping operations and how to use restraint in such operations,” said Maj. Adrian Chen, the 1/25 SBCT’s effects coordination officer.

“Who has been involved in peace keeping operations?” Indian Army’s staff officer responsible for UN operations asked a group of officers and staff members from both nations prior to the combined command post exercise portion of Yudh Abhyas.

Three quarters of the Indian army officers raised their hands while none of the 1/25 SBCT staff had personal experience in U.N. peace keeping missions. The Indian officer went on to explain how the Indian Army has more than 64 years of experience in U.N. peace keeping missions across the globe from Congo to Golan Heights.

With this dynamic, there is ample opportunity for U.S. service members to learn about conducting U.N. operations from their Indian Army counterparts with decades of experience. The exercise will also afford the U.S. Soldiers the opportunity to immerse themselves in the Indian culture which, to many of the 1/25 SBCT Soldiers, is a new experience in itself.

Though the 1/25 SBCT may not have a lot of experience in UN missions, they do have a wealth of experience and knowledge in the military planning and Mission Command processes during combined military operations in a diverse battlefield. The 1/25 SBCT Soldiers have spent the last 12 years deploying and conducting counter insurgency operations as part of a coalition in Iraq and Afghanistan. The 1/25 SBCT is no stranger to disarmament, demobilization and reintegration operations or humanitarian assistance missions and can provide this useful perspective for the Yudh Abhyas combined exercise.

Following the opening ceremonies at the Ranikhet Cantonment, Soldiers from both nations had tea together and celebrated with music and laughter as they began forming the bonds that help solidify continued peace and stability in the region.

• Date Taken: 09.17.2014
• Date Posted: 09.21.2014 23:43
• Story ID: 142841
• Location: RANIKHET CANTONMENT, IN