Lithuanian and US anti-tank Soldiers showoff capabilities

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Keith Anderson | In the smoke and fog, U.S. Soldiers jump out of a trench with a Javelin Portable Anti-tank missile launcher Oct. 16 during a demonstration for Lithuanian and international observers. Soldiers from the Fort Hood, Texas-based 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, and the Vilseck, Germany-based 1st Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, participated in the weeklong Hunter 2014 anti-tank exercise with Lithuanian Soldiers. (Courtesy photo by Rimgaudas Budrys)  

PABRADE, LITHUANIA

10.16.2014

Story by Staff Sgt. Keith Anderson 

1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division

PABARADE, Lithuania - In a joint U.S.-Lithuanian demonstration, anti-tank Soldiers "destroyed" a mechanized infantry battalion Oct. 16 at the Pabrades training area for an international audience.

Soldiers from the Fort Hood, Texas-based 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, and from the Vilseck, Germany-based 1st Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, fired Javelin Portable Anti-tank missiles and AT4 Light Anti-Armor Weapons at the husks of distant armored personnel carriers to demonstrate the U.S. and Lithuanian weapons systems.

Military representatives from the Czech Republic, Poland, Sweden, France, Denmark and China witnessed the demonstration, along with Lithuanian civilian leaders and media. The demonstration was the culmination of Hunter 2014, a two-week anti-tank field training exercise involving nearly 200 U.S. and Lithuanian Soldiers.

"The exercise was very useful for all the soldiers,” said Lt. Col. Aleksiejus Gaiževskis, exercise director and commander of the Land Force Juozas Lukša Training Center. “Within two weeks they were able to try a variety of guns and ammunition, as well as to find out the damage caused. Our soldiers are specially trained to destroy the expensive armored vehicles by using variety of anti-tank weapons. In this area, they really are professionals and we can see it be results of these exercises"

For Sgt. Henry Oforidankwah, team leader, B Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, the exercise was a special experience.

“I was awarded a Lithuanian commander’s cup for successfully firing a Javelin at a cold target, and for being the first American to fire a Javelin in Lithuania,” said Oforidankwah, a native of Kumasi, Ghana, and resident of Virginia. “It was the first time for me to shoot a live AT4 or Javelin.”

Working with the Lithuanians was a good experience for U.S. Soldiers, and the exercise was interesting.

“The Lithuanian Soldiers were friendly and cooperative,” said Spc. Clinton Evans, rifleman, B Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, and native of Peru, Indiana. “I was in a bunker – I fired a Javelin out of it. It was really loud.”

U.S. Soldiers are in Lithuania as part of the U.S. Army Europe-led Atlantic Resolve, a multinational combined arms exercise involving the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, and host nations, taking place across Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to enhance multinational interoperability, to strengthen relationships among allied militaries, to contribute to regional stability and to demonstrate US commitment to NATO.

• Date Taken: 10.16.2014
• Date Posted: 10.20.2014 04:05
• Story ID: 145445
• Location: PABRADE, LT
• Hometown: KUMASI, GH
• Hometown: PERU, IN, US