Photo By Sgt. Marcus Floyd | Deputy Commanding General (Manpower and Reserve Affairs), U.S. Army Europe, Maj. Gen....... read more read more
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DRAWSKO POMORSKIE TRAINING AREA, Poland - As the Army moves into a new era of increased cooperation between nations, the benefits of multinational training increases.
Exercises such as Saber Strike 15 not only help to define this period of cooperation, but they lay down the foundation for the militaries' shared goals.
“Exercises such as Saber Strike have had enormous success in building the strong relationships that we share with the Baltic States and Poland,” said Deputy Commanding General (Manpower and Reserve Affairs), U.S. Army Europe Maj. Gen. Mark T. McQueen. “Partnerships such as these are the foundation that will allow us to achieve our common goal of maintaining a Europe that is safe, secure and prosperous.”
Encompassing more than 6,000 participants from 13 different nations, Saber Strike is a long-standing U.S. Army Europe-led cooperative training exercise. Designed to improve joint operational capability in a range of missions as well as preparing the participating nations and units to support multinational contingency operations, this year's exercise takes place across Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.
After two weeks of training, approximately 2,000 U.S., Polish, Danish and German soldiers from armored, mechanized infantry, artillery and various other units held a combined arms live fire exercise to conclude the training June 19, 2015, at the Drawsko Pomorskie Training Area, Poland.
“Exercise Saber Strike was a tremendous success. We really walked away knowing that we achieved our training objectives, and from there we're going to build on it and look toward next year's exercises as well,” said McQueen. “Saber Strike is on tap for next year, and it's integrated into our Anaconda 16 training platform.”
Although Saber Strike has come to a close, the Army can look forward to more multinational exercises as they continue to strengthen the relationship between NATO allies.
“As we continue to strengthen our partnerships, we must always remember that no nation can confront today's challenges alone,” said McQueen. “Together we will continue to train and prepare for potential multinational contingency operations around the world.”
By working with one another and learning different unit procedures, the soldiers were able to build on the strength between their nations.
“During this exercise, we could exchange our knowledge and different procedures,” said Polish army Col. Piotr Bieniek, deputy brigade commander of Poland's 15th Mechanized Brigade. “Additionally, we could learn about the equipment from different countries, and how our partners use it during operations as well as how they operate in this kind of environment.”
An exercise like Saber Strike sends the message that no one is alone and that they are all here together as part of the alliance, said Bieniek.
“We're standing tall together, standing strong together and we know that we will be there for each other,” said McQueen. “What we are trying to do is build trust and confidence in our leaders, in our equipment and our Soldiers' skills.”
| Date Taken: | 06.19.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 06.19.2015 14:15 |
| Story ID: | 167350 |
| Location: | DRAWSKO POMORSKIE, PL |
| Web Views: | 740 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Building a cooperative future: Saber Strike 15 concludes in Poland, by SGT Marcus Floyd, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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