Photo By Sgt. Tracy R. Myers | The opening ceremony to commence the beginning of Steppe Eagle 14 took place Sept. 24,...... read more read more
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ALMATY, Kazakhstan – Multinational flags raised above the opening ceremony here Sept. 24, for the 12th Annual Steppe Eagle exercise in which more than 250 troops from the militaries of approximately ten nations will participate.
Steppe Eagle 14 is a multinational exercise focusing on peacekeeping and peace support operations to promote a mutual understanding and interoperability between partner nations and an opportunity to build relationships and exchange ideas.
“We are going to participate with different counties, being able to work together to accomplish peacekeeping tactics,” said Kazakhstan Ministry of Defense Maj. Miras Akhmetzhanov, Air Mobile Force’s international cooperation officer. “I feel great pride being one of the officers representing our country over seas in Germany.”
This year’s Steppe Eagle marks the first time the Kazakhstan military will deploy troops to Germany for the exercise at the Joint Multinational Training Center in Hohenfels, Germany, Sept. 25 through Oct. 16.
“The exercise in Germany will challenge the participants tactical peacekeeping skills, but more importantly it will validate their ability to self-deploy and support a large peacekeeping contingent outside of the region,” said John Ordway, Kazakhstan’s U.S. Embassy Charge d’Affaires.
This field training exercise, led by U.S. Army Central and the Arizona National Guard, will provide mentorship to the Kazakhstan brigade as they challenge, strengthen and refine their capacity to deploy in support of peacekeeping missions.
“One of the major tasks for us is to check the deploying capabilities, if we are able to deploy successfully and also see how other counties are doing that,” said Akhmetzhanov.
Preparing for this mission was an extensive process, and they plan to benefit from the new experience.
“For this mission they have purchased new airplanes to transport personnel from Kazakhstan to Germany,” said Akhmetzhanov. “We plan to achieve interoperability with the participating counties and enable our capabilities to be a part of peacekeeping missions world-wide.”
“The peacekeeping operations training is familiar to us, and tactically it will be no different that previous years, however we have still prepared to succeed,” said Akhmetzhanov. “In June we had some instructors from the United States here to give us guidance and help prepare. We also have our own instructors that conducted classes with our Soldiers in advance.”
U.S. Army Central and the Arizona National Guard work together with Kazakhstan frequently to strengthen partnerships as part of an enduring partnership program between Kazakhstan and the State of Arizona established in 1995. The U.S. and Central Asian States partners are committed to promoting security, stability and our mutual interests around the world.
“This multilateral exercise between Kazakhstan, the United Kingdom and the U.S., Steppe Eagle, has always reflected it’s participants’ desire and willingness to contribute to peace and stability around the world,” said Ordway.
Military-to-military exercises, including Steppe Eagle, have served as an excellent training opportunity to strengthen tactical proficiency in critical mission areas, support long-term stability, help build trusted relationships and mutual understanding in the region.
“We are expecting to gain a great experience from this exercise because it will be the first time we are conducting it at the Joint Multinational Training Center in Germany, which is a great facility,” said Akhmetzhanov. “We are expecting it to be very useful training for our Soldiers.”
After the opening ceremony here, the Kazakhstan military members participating in Steppe Eagle 2014 departed for Germany with new aircraft, an air of pride, great expectations and high hopes for a successful validation of their deployment capabilities and peacekeeping abilities.
| Date Taken: | 09.24.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 10.07.2014 14:31 |
| Story ID: | 144495 |
| Location: | ALMATY, KZ |
| Web Views: | 74 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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