DRAWSKO-POMORSKIE, Poland - Paratroopers from Company C, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, invited their partners from Poland and Canada to celebrate the U.S. Army’s 239th birthday with a helocast, volleyball and a cookout here June 14.
Approximately 600 paratroopers from the brigade are in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland as part of an unscheduled land-forces exercise to demonstrate commitment to NATO obligations and sustain interoperability with allied forces
The day started with the helocast, which is a training event used to insert paratroopers into a water environment. UH-60 “Blackhawk” helicopters flew in low over a lake located at the training area—with teams of four paratroopers prepared to jump from the doorways.
Rotor wash stirred up a haze of droplets mixing with a light falling rain as the paratroopers hit the water. After the jump, they gathered together and swam to a dock where their fellow paratroopers stood, cheering them on. In all, approximately 200 paratroopers improved their water survival skills and six pilots from U.S. Army Europe’s 12th Combat Aviation Brigade were certified for water operations.
Pfc. Patrick Barr has been in the Army almost a year and has only been in Company C for two months. After his jump, he climbed onto the dock, grinning and dripping wet. Barr described recent training as “fast and furious” but fun. Though he likes the adrenaline rush of parachuting out of aircraft, he was glad for a chance to relax.
“It’s been a new experience getting to know other soldiers from NATO forces—Canadians and Polish. I’ve made a lot of friends here too. There is a lot of great heritage in the Army. It’s good to be a part of that and it’s good to be here 239 years later and still going stronger than ever,” said Barr, of Port Orange, Florida.
Company C deployed to Poland for training in April, and has spent the past two months conducting airborne operations and live-fire training with paratroopers from Canada’s Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry and the Polish army’s 6th Airborne Brigade.
Later, the sun came out and soldiers from the three nations played a game of volleyball on the shoreline, listened to music and relaxed. Lunch—served by their officers- included grilled chicken, steak, potatoes, salad and drinks.
According to 1st Lt. Thomas Johnston, of Woodstock, Vermont, the training Company C completed has been “quite a ride”.
“Training with the Canadians and the Poles has definitely been different. We’ve gotten to see some differences and picked up on some other things that they do that will benefit us,” said Johnston. “It’s a steeper learning curve and they’ve gotten to soak up some valuable knowledge.”
Johnston said in terms of conducting further training or future missions with their Canadian and Polish counterparts; he believes Company C paratroopers are fully prepared.
“We have worked out all the kinks,” said Johnston. “The planning process and rehearsals would go much smoother because we are familiar with how each other operates. In the future, I would expect us to be able to operate on a higher level; on a quicker pace.”
As for the Army birthday celebration paratrooper style, Johnston said this: “We’ve been taking advantage of every opportunity to train—training very hard, very quickly without taking many breaks. This is a nice opportunity to relax and helocast into a barbeque. How many people can say they did that?”
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