Road to Anakonda: Raider Brigade builds combat power in preparation for Anakonda 16

Photo By Staff Sgt. Ryan Tatum | A soldier from 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment performs Preventive Maintenance Checks and Services on an M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank as the battalion draws equipment from the European Activity Set at Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base, Romania April 7. As a part of the Regionally Allocated Force for U.S. European Command, the battalion will be shooting gunnery in Germany, Romania and Bulgaria. This training will prepare the battalion to join over 25,000 participants from 24 countries for Exercise ‎Anakonda 16‬ in Poland. Anakonda 16 is a Polish national exercise that seeks to train, exercise and integrate Polish national command and force structures into an Allied, joint, multinational environment. The exercise further supports assurance and deterrence measures by demonstrating Allied defense capabilities to deploy, mass and sustain combat power.  

GRAFENWOEHR, GERMANY

04.08.2016

Story by Maj. Randy Ready 

1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division

(Grafenwoehr, Germany) - Soldiers from 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division started drawing tanks and Bradleys from the European Activity Set at sites in Germany, Romania and Bulgaria April 4-8 as the brigade prepares for Exercise Anakonda 16.

Anakonda 16 is a Polish national exercise taking place throughout Poland from June 7-17. The exercise will involve more than 25,000 participants from 24 nations, supporting assurance and deterrence measures by demonstrating Allied defense capabilities to deploy, mass and sustain combat power.‬

The brigade will be shooting gunnery in Germany, Romania, Bulgaria and Poland over the next two months to prepare for Anakonda.

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Steven Peck, the executive officer for Company C, 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, said they will be focusing on maintenance and gunnery to make sure their crews and equipment are ready for the exercise.

“As a heavy [armored] brigade, we’ll continue to push working maintenance on our equipment while we prepare for gunnery operations and qualify as crews, sections, and platoons on our gunnery tables,” said Peck, a native of Bel Air, Maryland.

For Spc. Anthony Calderon, an armor crewman with Co. C, 1st Bn., 64th Armd. Rgmt. from Hanley Falls, Minnesota, this will be the first time he will shoot a tank gunnery as a tank gunner, which he says will help develop him as a leader.

“I have been in five or six gunneries at Fort Stewart, but never as a gunner,” said Calderon. “[Gunnery] will teach me a lot about accountability of the tank’s tools, things I don’t know about in the range tower, and scoring for the different tables.”

Though the Soldiers are anxiously waiting to start sending rounds downrange, the biggest motivation for them is getting to Poland afterwards to train with the multinationals.

“We are excited to get to Poland once gunnery concludes in Grafenwoehr [Germany],” said Peck. “We are looking forward to training with the Polish brigade in that multinational exercise, building interoperability, building relationships and being able to train and fight with our multinational allies and partners.”

• Date Taken: 04.08.2016
• Date Posted: 04.09.2016 11:34
• Story ID: 194898
• Location: GRAFENWOEHR, DE
• Hometown: BEL AIR, MD, US
• Hometown: HANLEY FALLS, MN, US