Photo By Capt. Hector Rene Membreno-Canales | Paratroopers of the Polish army’s 6th Airborne Brigade approach a shooting range in...... read more read more
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DRAWSKO POMORSKIE, Poland – Paratroopers of the Polish army’s 6th Airborne Brigade and the 173rd Airborne Brigade trained side-by-side, firing heavy weapons mounted on Humvees at Bucierez Range near Drawkso Pomorskie, Poland, Aug. 26.
There were approximately 50 paratroopers from NATO forces, sharing and executing training tactics for mounted live-fire training as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, which includes combined training exercises to foster cohesive relationships and demonstrate a commitment to NATO obligations.
Polish army 2nd Lt. Rafal Musialik, a platoon leader assigned to the Polish 18th Airborne Battalion said, “This is a new experience for us because you bring a lot of ammunition.”
Both the U.S. and Polish armies use 12.7mm NATO rounds on their weapons systems, most commonly known as the .50mm-caliber machine gun and the DShK machine gun. The DShK is a Soviet heavy machine gun firing the 12.7 cartridge. The Polish soldiers affectionately call the DShK “Dushka” the Russian word for “Sweetie" or "Dear."
“Our firing rotations only shoot about 60 rounds, but with the U.S. Army here our rotation fires what feels like 600 rounds,” Musialik said with a smile.
The 173rd Airborne Brigade is participating in Operation Atlantic Resolve to demonstrate commitment to NATO allies while increasing trust in each other’s equipment and abilities. The brigade has approximately 150 paratroopers training in Poland, as well as additional troops in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
The intention of combined training is to develop working relationships and tactics between allied forces.
“This exercise is a valuable learning experience,” said Pvt. Branden Bodnar, a Cincinnati, Ohio, native and paratrooper assigned to Company D, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade. “We’ve gotten to fire foreign light machine guns and assault rifles.”
Bodnar has been learning new shooting tactics and has become more familiar on weapon systems not commonly used by the U.S. Army.
“It’s very important to become familiar with our allies’ weapons so we can have a better understanding in case we serve together in combat. This way we can plan accordingly,” said Bodnar.
| Date Taken: | 08.26.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 09.17.2014 08:52 |
| Story ID: | 142402 |
| Location: | DRAWSKO POMORSKIE, PL |
| Hometown: | CINCINNATI, OHIO, US |
| Web Views: | 344 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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