Photo By Capt. Fernando Ochoa | Canadian Lt. Jean-Francois Carpentier, 3rd Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment, Polish...... read more read more
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DRAWSKO POMORSKIE, Poland – When I heard there was a call for volunteers to man a public affairs mission to Europe, I immediately threw my hat into the ring; little did I know that this was a mission that supported U.S. Army Europe and the 173rd Airborne Brigade, and the mission was called “Operation Atlantic Resolve.”
The 173rd Airborne Brigade, based in Vicenza, Italy, is the U.S. Army’s contingency-response force in Europe and is capable of projecting forces to conduct the full of range of military operations across the United States, European and Central African command’s areas of responsibility.
Operation Atlantic Resolve is training that reassures our allies and partners in the Eastern part of Europe that America’s commitment to our defense responsibilities. This bi-lateral training with NATO includes Soldiers from Germany, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Romania.
I was assigned to a four man Team Poland, my fellow 311th Expeditionary Sustainment Command co-worker, Sgt. 1st Class Walter Talens, was assigned to a four person Team Latvia and our mission commander and 201st Press Camp executive officer, Maj. Heather Roelker, was part of Team Wiesbaden, Germany, which coordinated the mission’s operations.
During Operation Atlantic Resolve, Soldiers from NATO’s allies conducted combined training to both sharpen their skill sets and build a more solid foundation to their NATO alliance.
This was the first U.S. Army Reserve Mobile Public Affairs Detachment to support Operation Atlantic Resolve. Twenty Soldiers from 16 different U.S. Army Reserve units came together to produce written stories and video news reports. Soldiers from the U.S. National Guard also supported this operation in previous assignments.
"Telling the story of Operation Atlantic Resolve through public affairs resources is a key for the overall mission to succeed,” said Roelker. “The U.S. Army Reserve Public Affairs team provided public affairs support through photography, video acquisition, production and community engagements that created media relations.”
When I first arrived in Poland, I was happy to see that the local economy had many signs of a free society. This was evident when I met Sgt. 1st Class Gregory Sabiniewicz, 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade and unit translator. His story was compelling because he had lived in the U.S. until the age of eight until his mother and father decided to move from Chicago back to their native Poland in 1991, when the communist regime was dissolved.
Sabiniewicz remembered when he went through a culture shock, moving from Chicago where everything was readily available. When he got to Poland his family had to wait three to five hours to get basic groceries.
“Our rations were meat, milk and communities with life sustaining manners,” said Sabiniewicz. “A family of five rationed two kilos of meat a week. There were other items we had to drive several hours out of town to get a pound of sugar. It was a huge culture shock for a kid.”
Sabiniewicz joined the U.S. Army to serve his country and felt honored to part of the 173rd Airborne. His dream of serving the United States came full circled, going from an American citizen to a Polish refugee to an American Soldier and nothing pleased him more than seeing how his ancestral country had evolved.
Talens, who helped lead Team Latvia, supported coverage featuring the 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment, 503rd Infantry Regiment, of 173rd AB, and enjoyed traveling to a foreign country, eating the local cuisine, interacting with the local population and developing junior NCOs to become better public affairs operators.
“I had the opportunity to develop junior Soldiers from Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, while working with 173rd AB paratroopers and Latvian infantry Soldiers,” said Talens. “Latvia is a beautiful country with a rich history and friendly people. The Latvians I met were warm and educated. The country itself is green and full of nature activities.”
The exercise that brought all the forces together was called “Steadfast Javelin.” This movement combined NATO allies and involved over 2,000 troops from five nations, and took place across Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. This exercise focused on increasing interoperability and synchronizing complex operations between allied air and ground forces through airborne and air assault missions.
I felt that it was a privilege to be part of Operation Atlantic Resolve. This was a rewarding experience and opened my eyes to what was happening in this part of the world, seeing how the NATO allies have come together to create a deterrent to aggression.
Operation Atlantic Resolve is training that reassures our allies and partners in this region of the world that America’s commitment to our defense responsibilities and is designed to foster cohesive relationships.
| Date Taken: | 09.30.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 10.27.2014 15:36 |
| Story ID: | 146203 |
| Location: | LOS ANGELES, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 236 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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