Photo By Sgt. A.M. LaVey | Lt. Col. Patrick Wilkins, commander, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd...... read more read more
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MANTUA, Italy—American paratroopers joined their Italian allies for a combined airborne operation to break in a new drop zone, Lory II, here Oct. 30.
Paratroopers from the 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade led the charge to find this new training opportunity.
“Last July, we were told to look into alternative drop zones so that we could jump closer to Caserma Ederle,” said Sgt. 1st Class Stuart N. Sword, a battalion operations noncommissioned officer. The drop zone in Mantua allows the battalion to maintain airborne proficiency in about half the time it takes to commute to Aviano Air Base, he said.
The battalion operations team began by engaging allied Italian army units located in northern Italy, looking for both a drop zone and a departure air field nearby.
“It took about three months of planning,” said Sword. “We reached out to our partners from the 8th Engineer Battalion, Folgore Parachute Brigade and the Villafranca airport, both in Verona, and the Office of Defense Cooperation down in Rome.”
Jumping in the Verona area also allows more combined training opportunities.
“It’s a great opportunity to showcase our interoperability with our Italian counterparts here in northern Italy and it presents a strategic capability in terms of the overall Army Contingency Response Force,” said Sword.
“In addition, it’s closer to where their headquarters are and makes it easier for them to meet and train with us.”
The nearby jump also allowed more Families and local Italians to observe the combined training.
“We are friends, brothers and sisters: we don’t forget that 70 years ago American Soldiers fought for the freedom of Italy,” said Fabio Zacchi, the vice mayor of Poggio Rusco, a nearby community.
After the combined operation, the Italian paratroopers were presented with the U.S. Parachutist Badge and a certificate of appreciation.
“This sort of training is absolutely important and I want to continue it,” said Lt. Col. Patrick Wilkins, the battalion commander. “It’s our privilege to be here, on this soil, in this country.”
Future combined training with the Verona-based units is scheduled, including things like demolition.
“The biggest opportunity that has come out of this has been increasing our relationship with the Italians,” said Capt. Michael C. Agbay, a battalion operations officer. “It was a pretty good event for our guys and theirs to work and intermingle with each other.”
The 173rd Airborne Brigade, based in Vicenza, Italy, is the Army Contingency Response Force in Europe, and is capable of projecting forces to conduct a full range of military operations across the U.S. European, Central and Africa Command’s areas of responsibility.
| Date Taken: | 11.04.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 11.04.2014 11:10 |
| Story ID: | 146915 |
| Location: | MANTOVA, IT |
| Web Views: | 746 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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