Yudh Abhyas culminates with partnership and culture

Photo By Staff Sgt. Mylinda Durousseau | A group photo of all the Soldiers both U.S. and Indian whom participated in this year's Yudh Abhyas. The exercise is sponsored by U.S. Army Pacific and has occurred every year since 2004. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Mylinda Durousseau, 1/25 SBCT Public Affairs)  

RANIKHET CANTONMENT, UL, INDIA

09.30.2014

Story by Maj. David Mattox 

1st Brigade, 11th Airborne Division

RANIKHET CANTONMENT, India - The closing ceremonies Tuesday marked the conclusion of two weeks of combined U.S. and Indian training and 10 successful years of the bilateral training exercise known as Yudh Abhyas.

The Alaska-based U.S. Army Soldiers of the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division and Soldiers from the Indian army’s 99th Mountain Brigade spent the last two weeks training together and sharing in each other’s culture.

“This year our Soldiers have been fortunate to train here at Chaubattia and Ranikhet cantonments in the shadow of the Himalayas. You couldn’t ask for a more beautiful and scenic locations for military training, not to mention a challenging one due to the altitude and the steep terrain,” said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Lawrence Haskins, the commander of the California National Guard and guest speaker at the Yudh Abhyas closing ceremonies.

This year’s exercise consisted of two parts, a command post exercise where staff members from both nations formed a combined brigade staff tasked with planning U.N. peacekeeping operations while a combined maneuver battalion conducted tactical training, carrying out the plans from the combined brigade staff.

The first Indian-U.S. exercise, Yudh Abhyas, was in 2004 and in the 10 years since the training exercise has been held in alternating locations between the U.S. and India. In its inception, Yudh Abhyas was a platoon-level exercise and has continuously grown to a company and now, brigade-level exercise.

While the combined U.S. and Indian brigade worked towards their task of bringing peace and stability to a fictitious nation in crisis the U.S. Army’s 5th Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment combined with Indian Army’s 2nd Battalion, Ninth Gorkha Rifles to conduct the tactical field exercise portion of this year’s Yudh Abhyas.

“Both forces are professional,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. James Hayes, commander of the 5-1 Cavalry. Hayes described the performance of the Soldiers of the 2/9 Gorkha Rifles and his own 5-1CAV troopers who demonstrated their proficiency as a combined force in a culminating engagement in the mountains of Uttrakan, India, Monday.

U.S. Army’s 5-1 CAV Soldiers and India Army’s 2/9 Gorkha Rifles conducted a series of combined training events with weapons familiarity, crowd control, counterinsurgency, rock climbing, urban tactics, jungle operations, close quarters marksmanship and non-lethal tactics.

The staff members in the exercise focused not only on the military decision-making process but also the specifics of operating within a UN peacekeeping mandate.

Throughout the exercise, Soldiers from both armies could be seen either working through difficult challenges, some physically demanding as well as the mental challenges of the mission command. However, it was no rarity to see the two forces sharing in each other’s culture and discussing family lives and community culture from both nations’ perspectives.

“Our Indian hosts have allowed us to experience their culture and learn about their country, which has made the exercise a unique and special experience,” said Haskins.

Integral to this exercise was the team from the U.S. Naval Post Graduate School’s Center for Civil-Military Relations, which provided oversight of the exercise and ensured that the training objectives from both armies were met.

Soldiers with the California National Guard also traveled from their home state in the U.S. to join 1/25 SBCT in Alaska and travel to India, serving as the simulated UN higher headquarters for the command post exercise portion of Yudh Abhyas.

The exercise began Sept. 17 with a display of disciplined professional Soldiers from two countries on a common parade field during the opening ceremonies. After two weeks of training and hard work, the Soldiers came together and accomplished complex tasks, growing closer together. When the Soldiers gathered again on the same parade field for the closing ceremonies they were a collective of professionals, disciplined and further enlightened Soldiers.

“Both armies met as one in this exercise,” said the Indian army colonel serving as the assistant director for the exercise. “It was a pleasure to participate with such a mature and professional group.”

The benefits of this exercise were twofold in that Soldiers executed complex training designed to sharpen their military skills and make them more interoperable as professionals, but they also developed relationships with their counterparts, which increased their cultural awareness and understanding of the U.S.-Indian strategic partnership.

“The strategic U.S.-Indian partnership has taken a giant leap forward because of this exercise,” said the Indian army assistant director for the exercise.

This has been an experience most of the participants will remember forever and has further strengthened the strategic partnership for the future.

“Our friendship, especially in the military context, is steadily rising. The bonhomie and camaraderie shown by the two contingents during the combined exercise further reinforces it and paves the way for a strong and irrevocable strategic partnership,” said Indian Army Maj. Gen. Ashwani Kumar, the major general, General Staff, Headquarters Central Command of Indian army. “The understanding and goodwill generated during this exercise will go a long way in further strengthening military bonds between the two armies.”

• Date Taken: 09.30.2014
• Date Posted: 10.01.2014 07:59
• Story ID: 143882
• Location: RANIKHET CANTONMENT, UL, IN
• Hometown: ANCHORAGE, AK, US
• Hometown: FAIRBANKS, AK, US
• Hometown: FORT WAINWRIGHT, AK, US
• Hometown: SACRAMENTO, CA, US