Sky Soldiers continue persistent presence through Poland

Courtesy Photo | The entrance of Wojsko Polskie base, Oct. 25, 2015, Gliwice, Poland. Bayonet Thrust is a demonstration of NATO’s ability to move forces freely across allied borders and maintain freedom of movement across the region. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Moses Ward)  

GLIWICE, POLAND

10.25.2015

Story by Staff Sgt. Opal Vaughn  

173rd Airborne Brigade

GLIWICE, Poland – Paratroopers from Company D, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment continue a persistent presence in the region of Poland as they road march to their second stop in the country, Oct. 25, 2015, as part of Operation Bayonet Thrust.

Bayonet Thrust is a demonstration of NATO’s ability to move forces freely across allied borders and maintain freedom of movement across the region.

“The great thing about Bayonet Thrust is that it’s not just a method of getting home. It demonstrates NATO’s ability to move across interior lines, rapidly, swiftly and shows how we can work with our NATO allies,” said 2nd Lt. Bond Finseth, a platoon leader with Company D.

“Since we’ve started our movement, we’ve moved through Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and now were in Poland,” said Finseth. “Our NATO allies have been extremely helpful, extremely professional and the hospitality demonstrated by each host nation has been excellent.”

Capt. Matt Heath, commander of Company D agrees.

“So far everything has been running really smoothly,” said Heath. “The professionalism of our NATO partners and allies has paid dividends when transferring authority at each border crossing.”

Company D paratroopers are four days and four countries into the operation. Their final destination will be their home base in Vicenza, Italy. While they cross borders they have a scheduled stop in Hungary, taking time to interact with the local community.

“After [Poland] we’re going to Tata, Hungary. From there we’ll be going to Postojna, Slovenia and then finally we’ll end up in Vicenza,” said Finseth. “We have a static display in Tata where we will mount our weapons systems. We’ll have a few Soldiers in full kit. We’ll be able to interact with the population and answer any questions and just really show this community that we’re there to support them.”

This road march proves NATO member countries are able to work together rapidly and safely, to move military forces long distances across alliance borders.

“I love being a small piece of the larger operation and I really love working with our host nation allies,” said Finseth. “Bayonet Thrust shows that we can move through NATO countries as easily as we can move within the United States. It shows that partnered alliance that we have with our other countries and it shows how easy it is for us to work together and demonstrate our abilities.

“It’s always interesting to see different cultures, how different militaries operate, and it’s a great pleasure to be part of that experience,” said Finseth.

The 173rd Airborne Brigade, based in Vicenza, Italy, is the U.S. Army contingency response force in Europe and is capable of deploying ready forces to conduct the full range of military operations across the U.S. European, Africa and Central Commands' areas of operations within 18 hours.

• Date Taken: 10.25.2015
• Date Posted: 10.25.2015 17:01
• Story ID: 179865
• Location: GLIWICE, PL