California Army National Guard Soldiers participate in bilateral U.S.-India “Yudh Abhyas 2015” exercise

Photo By Sgt. Danielle Rodrigues | Col. Rick Rabe, left, commander of the California National Guard's 100th Troop Command, poses with his Indian army counterpart during Yudh Abhyas 2015. Soldiers from the 100th Troop Command played the role of United Nations Headquarters during the U.S. Army Pacific exercise at Joint Base Lewis-McChord Sept. 9-23. The bilateral exercise with the Indian Army simulated a U.N. peacekeeping mission. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Balreet Khaira)  

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, UNITED STATES

10.02.2015

Courtesy Story

California National Guard Primary   

By Lt. Col. Thomas Graham and Lt. Col. Ken Koop

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. - Twenty Soldiers from the 100th Troop Command, led by Col. Rick Rabe, participated in the U.S. Army Pacific bilateral “Yudh Abhyas” exercise at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM), Washington, Sept. 9-23. The California Army National Guard Soldiers were partnered with Indian Army officers to replicate a United Nations peacekeeping mission headquarters in a command post exercise that simulated humanitarian assistance and disaster response.

Yudh Abhyas, a Hindi phrase which can be translated into English as “Military Training” or “Practice for War,” is an annual bilateral exercise between the U.S. and Indian Armies that uses a U.N. peacekeeping scenario to build interoperability and create professional military partnerships. The exercise, now in its 11th year, is hosted by the U.S. and India on alternating years.

During the exercise, U.S. and Indian forces conducted successful United Nations peacekeeping operations in the fictitious country of Zuba, which was wrought with factional forces impeding the movement of food and water to Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps. Some scenarios during the exercise included securing a dam and responding to a cyclone.

The California Army National Guard has been an enduring participant in Yudh Abhyas since 2008, leveraging California’s position as the gateway to the Pacific as well as the diversity of the force to enhance the exercise. The Center for Civil- Military Relations (CCMR), at the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, plans and runs the exercise for U.S. Army Pacific and relies on the California Guardsmen to provide continuity from year to year and place a military face on the training events.

Scott Moreland, the CCMR senior director, said, “The California Guard brings not only continuity, but experiences from their own civil-military exercises and operations that take place in California year after year with responses to fires, floods, earthquakes and civil disturbances; as well as having native speaking Hindi Soldiers, such as Staff Sgt. Bree Khaira, that participated this year as well as last that brings a personal understanding about Indian cultural differences.”

The 100th Troop Command has been part of the Yudh Abhyas exercise since 2011. Rabe, the brigade commander, has taken advantage of this opportunity to train the staff on mission command. “The exercise, having the 100th TC as a United Nation’s headquarters, would be similar [to an operation having] the 100th TC as a headquarters supporting defense support to civilian authorities (DSCA) [missions],” he said. “We would conduct the Military Decision Making Process [MDMP] in the same way, publish orders and fragos [fragmentary orders], as well as battle track our subordinate units” in this case being the 593rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command (ESC), an active duty unit based out of JBLM, he explained. “Besides practicing aspects of mission command, working alongside our counterparts in the Indian Army allowed us to examine the differences between our armies and capitalize on the training and experience of each. It was a great opportunity to not only understand, but embrace the differences in our cultures and the way our Army’s operate. Many of our Soldiers formed professional and personal bonds that transcends the barriers of time and distance and builds upon the strategic goals of our two armies and nations.”

Several of his staff participated in previous iterations of the exercise. Capt. Yusef Parker, the intelligence officer on the 100th Troop Command staff, participated in Yudh Abhyas for the third time, and remarked that “it provided a unique opportunity for me not only as a Soldier establishing ties with other U.S. troops and Soldiers of an allied nation, but [building] relations with new friends. Two of my goals for this exercise were to increase my knowledge base of U.N. peacekeeping operations, and to be a positive representation of the California Army National Guard to our Indian counterparts. I believe I succeeded in both.”

The California Guardsmen started building relationships with their Indian counterparts as soon as they arrived at JBLM. Troop Command Soldiers reached out to their Indian counterparts to introduce and explain U.S. culture, show them the sights of the Pacific Northwest, and placed their Indian counterparts at ease during their stay in the U.S.
In between exercise tasks; the U.S. and Indian Soldiers enjoyed trips to Portland, Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia, attended a USO show on base and some participated in their national sport cricket, and ours of baseball, football and soccer.

The Indian officers were very appreciative and gracious of the warm welcome.

“The California Army National Guard Soldiers have been tremendous hosts and very professional,” said a senior Indian Army officer working alongside Troop Command Soldiers.

• Date Taken: 10.02.2015
• Date Posted: 10.02.2015 16:24
• Story ID: 177931
• Location: JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, US