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    82nd Airborne Division partners with Royal Netherlands army during Operation Noble Ledger 2014

    82nd Airborne Division partners with Royal Netherlands army during Operation Noble Ledger 2014

    Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Mary Katzenberger | First Lt. Quentin M. Jester, a platoon leader assigned to Company A, 2nd Battalion,...... read more read more

    LANDSORKJE, Norway – The rumble of the engines of three C-130 Hercules aircraft soaring through the sky toward Rena Airfield in Landsorkje, Norway, Sept. 23, signaled the beginning of a tactical exercise aimed at enhancing the 82nd Airborne Division’s interoperability with the 11th Airmobile Brigade of the Royal Netherlands army.

    More than 100 Paratroopers assigned to Company A, 2nd Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Abn. Div., as well as key enablers from throughout the brigade, conducted a parachute assault and an airfield seizure in Norway with international partners during the second phase of Operation Noble Ledger 2014, or NOLR14. NOLR14 is the second of three exercises the NATO Response Force 2015 is completing to validate the interoperability, readiness and capabilities of the coalition force.

    For the Paratroopers assigned to Co. A, the mission provided them an opportunity to work with Dutch Paratroopers they had trained with at Fort Bragg, N.C., last spring while participating in the 3rd Brigade Combat Team’s Joint Operations Access Exercise.

    Capt. Jesse B. Burnette, commander of Co. A, said having a second opportunity to work with an allied military provided valuable training for his Paratroopers.

    “When you get to go overseas, integrate with another allied force and share [tactics, techniques and procedures] and just, more importantly, develop relationships for the way ahead, it’s absolutely money well spent,” he said. “It was a great exercise across the board [and] we had great support from the Dutch.”

    Burnette said he has two key takeaways from this repetition training with the Royal Netherlands army. The most critical, he said, is integrating U.S. personnel into the allied forces’ formations and bringing allied troops into U.S. formations during the planning phase of an operation.

    Prior to kicking off the airfield seizure mission, Burnett integrated his executive officer and supply sergeant into the mission planning process with the Dutch. The Dutch, in turn, integrated two radio operators into Co. A, and they parachuted into Rena Airfield during the airborne assault.

    The second key takeaway, Burnette said, is that U.S. commanders need to be prepared to produce analog mission order products, such as map overlays, when working in tandem with allied forces.

    Burnette said the exchange of personnel and his team’s ability to adapt to the Royal Netherlands army’s military decision making process provided for seamless communication for the entirety of the operation.

    Spc. Juancarlos Urbina, the primary radio operator for Co. A, said integrating his communication equipment with the Dutch prior to kicking off the exercise also contributed to the success of the mission.

    Urbina said he and the Dutch agreed to use TacSat reconnaissance and communication satellites to negate the compatibility gap between the two armies’ radios.

    “We met up before the mission and talked about what type of radios we were going to use and their methods on how they do things and our methods on how we work our communications,” Urbina said. “I think it’s great; you get to see some of the equipment they’re using and you realize that there’s ways that you could do better in some of the things you’re doing.”

    1st Sgt. Scott D. Brinson, the senior enlisted advisor to the commander of Co. A, said partnering with the Dutch in Norway showed how capable his Paratroopers are of bridging the gap across some of the challenges that can be faced when working towards interoperability.

    “We had the right people in the right spot to ensure success as far as integrating all of our forces and integrating Paratroopers into the fight with foreign countries,” he said. “It just shows you that we realize the challenges we had to overcome in January and February with two different militaries and the way they operate; we have those common traits and common planning factors that definitely come into play when you’re talking about everything from logistics to a combined arms fight.”

    Burnette agreed.

    “I’m extremely proud of how the boys did and extremely proud of how everything came together and leaders took the initiative across the board to get where they needed to be as quickly as possible,” he said.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 10.08.2014
    Date Posted: 10.08.2014 15:00
    Story ID: 144628
    Location: LANDSORKJE, NO

    Web Views: 228
    Downloads: 0

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