National Guardsmen link up with Multinationals

Photo By Maj. JMRC PAO | Croatian and Minnesota National Guard Soldiers prepare to clear a room during an Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team training exercise at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center. The U.S. and multinational troops will deploy together to Afghanistan as part of the NATO International Security Assistance Force. The OMLT will help with the ISAF mission of assisting the Government of Afghanistan in establishing and maintaining a safe and secure environment.  

HOHENFELS, GERMANY

05.24.2010

Story by Sgt. 1st Class JMRC PAO 

Joint Multinational Readiness Center

HOHENFELS, Germany – Over the last several months, Staff Sgt. Timothy Harmon has given himself a crash course in Hungarian. The Ohio National Guardsman from Cincinnati, Ohio calculates that he knows more than 50 Hungarian words. He has reached the point where he can engage in short, polite conversations in the language with the Hungarian soldiers that he will serve with in Afghanistan.

"I just want to be able to be more effective communicating with those guys," Harmon said.

Harmon and fellow guardsmen recently completed Operational Mentor and Liaison Team training with their NATO counterparts at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center as the Coalition troops readied themselves for the upcoming deployment. Minnesota National Guard also completed OMLT training with Croatian troops.

In all, 13 countries from around the world participated in OMLT training at JMRC. The training exercise included military personnel from the United Kingdom, Poland, Belgium, Spain, Germany, Romania, France, Hungary, Norway, Croatia, Slovakia, Afghanistan and the United States.

The training exercise gave NATO countries' troops a chance to experience mentoring, coaching and teaching actual Afghan National Army soldiers. At the same time, 65 ANA soldiers here got a chance to work with troops from other countries who will be part of counter insurgency operations in Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, the OMLTs will coach, teach, and mentor Afghan soldiers to take a leading role in defending their nation.

The upcoming deployment will be Harmon's first to Afghanistan, although he has served a tour of duty in Iraq. It also will be the first time he will train, work and live with troops from another country in a combat zone.

The two weeks Harmon spent with Hungarians at JMRC along with four months with them in Hungary has allowed him, not only to learn a new language, but it also has allowed him time to get to know his Hungarian comrades. During the OMLT training, Harmon was astonished by the Hungarian soldiers' work ethic and eagerness to learn.

At the end of most days, the National Guardsmen knew where to find the Hungarian soldiers—outside the barracks in the grass continuing weapons training or practicing causality care.

"They are adamant about learning about the different techniques and methods we use in the U.S. military," Harmon said. "It makes our jobs a lot easier and instills confidence in us."

First Lt. Josef Tulipan of Hungarian Defense Forces said working with the U.S. troops at JMRC was a mutual beneficial learning experience. Most importantly, it gave Hungarian soldiers insight into how American reacts in particular combat situations, he said.

"We learned how the U.S. Soldiers think," Tulipan said.

Lt. Phillip Patti of the Ohio National Guard said training with the Hungarians here at JMRC gave troops from both countries a chance to complete critical hands on training using equipment, aids and other assets that weren't available elsewhere.

"It was a good time to get [the Hungarians] in the driver's seat of a Humvee and behind a turret," Patti said.

Like their Ohio counterparts, Minnesota National Guardsmen also completed combined OMLT training with Croatian troops at JMRC. Throughout their training, they also had the opportunity to train with the ANA troops.

Maj. Baer David of the Minnesota National Guard said the upcoming mission in Afghanistan will require his Soldiers and the Croatians troops to work together. Both vehicle and squad crews will be a mix of Croatian and American soldiers. Training time together at JMRC was critical in ironing out any problems that could hamper the troops from acting as a unified team.

"It's one team one fight," Baer said. "We have to act as one unit"

• Date Taken: 05.24.2010
• Date Posted: 05.24.2010 09:09
• Story ID: 50164
• Location: HOHENFELS, DE