US, Polish Soldiers Take to the Water For Training

Photo By Sgt. Brandon Anderson | U.S. Soldiers of P Troop, 4th Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment and Polish soldiers of the 6th Airborne Battalion, 6th Airborne Brigade navigate the shallow and debris-choked shallow water at the start of a joint river reconnaissance exercise at the Nowa Deba Training Area in Poland, July 29, 2015. During the training, the U.S. Soldiers learned the Polish army's procedures for river fording, insertion and patrolling techniques. The soldiers are part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, an ongoing multinational partnership focused on joint training and security cooperation between NATO allies. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Brandon Anderson, 13th Public Affairs Detachment.)  

NOWA DEBA, POLAND

07.29.2015

Story by Sgt. Brandon Anderson 

7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

NOWA DEBA, Poland - The art of observing enemy activity while remaining undetected is a skill on which cavalry scouts of the U.S. Army pride themselves. Whether they're creeping soundlessly through the woods, or in this case floating down a tiny rain-swollen stream in the Polish countryside, their task remains the same: observe, report and get out as stealthily as possible.

This was the challenge facing U.S. Soldiers of P Troop, 4th Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment as they teamed up with Polish soldiers of the Polish army's 6th Airborne Battalion, 6th Airborne Brigade to conduct a water insertion operation July 29 at the Nowa Deba Training Area in Poland.

They started the morning off assembling the Zodiac rafts in the pouring rain, and negotiating the slippery bank leading to their insertion point, taking cautious steps not to prematurely end up in the water.

Second Lt. Ragan Barr, a platoon leader for P Troop, said the weather was less than ideal, as it was raining for most of the exercise, but the trip as a whole gave them a chance to learn some of the Polish soldiers' tactics.

“We had a steady downpour for half the way, and a steady drizzle for the rest of it,” said Barr. “We ended up getting some good physical training in while focusing on the Polish method of conducting a river reconnaissance.”

Barr said the U.S. scouts are normally responsible for conducting river recon operations, but the methods they learned from the Polish soldiers are very different from the ones his team normally use.

“Locating fording sites is one of our tasks,” he said. “We're also in charge of determining stream depth, velocity, as well as the nature of the stream bottom so that we can provide that information to a follow-on unit. However, we don't normally utilize a boat to do that. We normally do these on foot.”

Pfc. Lane Murphy, a medic assigned to P Troop, said the experience was full of challenges, but he and his team embraced them as they came.

“At one point we encountered a tree-choked spot in the river where we had to take the boat out of the water and carry it,” Murphy said. “By that time, the bottom of the boat had a lot of water in it, and was made heavier by having our weapons in it too.”

Murphy emphasized that even through the obstacles presented by low water levels and trees, he and his team just took it as part of what a cavalry scout does. Even with difficulties, they still had fun.

“My favorite part was sitting on the back of the raft and pushing us down the river with my legs,” said Murphy.

He went on to say that at one point as they were floating, some local construction workers saw them and started waving and cheering them on.

“Overall it was a lot of fun,” Murphy said. “We're normally doing [this] on foot, but this was a unique experience.”

The wet conditions weren't enough to hinder the troopers from learning from their allies through this unique mission.

“The biggest gain for us is observing the different tactics they use, and it's definitely something we can implement in the future if we need to,” Barr said.

Even though the conditions were less than ideal for the cavalry scouts of P Troop, they valued the lessons learned and experiences gained from taking to the water with their Polish counterparts.

The U.S. Soldiers here are part of Atlantic Resolve, an ongoing multinational partnership focused on joint training and security cooperation between NATO allies. Led by the 4th Infantry Division Mission Command Element and in conjunction with European partner nations, Atlantic Resolve is intended to improve joint operational capacity in a range of missions and ensure continued peace and stability across Europe.

• Date Taken: 07.29.2015
• Date Posted: 07.30.2015 06:06
• Story ID: 171535
• Location: NOWA DEBA, PL