Overseas Soldiers augmented for mission success

Photo By Staff Sgt. Josiah Pugh | Staff Sgt. James Murphy, Company B, 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, mans an opposing forces M113 A3 during exercise maneuvers with Serbian troops. Saber Junction 16 is the U.S. Army Europe's 173rd Airborne Brigade's combat training center certification exercise, taking place at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, Mar. 31-Apr. 24, 2016. The exercise is designed to evaluate the readiness of the Army's Europe-based combat brigades to conduct unified land operations and promote interpretability in a joint, multinational environment. Saber Junction 16 includes nearly 5,000 participants from 16 NATO and European partner nations. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Josiah Pugh)  

HOHENFELS, BY, GERMANY

04.10.2016

Story by Sgt. Josiah Pugh 

100th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

HOHENFELS, Germany (April 10, 2016) -- 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment's mission is to serve as U.S. Army Europe's opposing forces during training exercises here at the Hohenfels Training Area. But, it's not a task the regiment can accomplish alone. They rely on outside forces to augment their team in order to complete their mission.

Every rotation, they receive National Guardsmen, Army Reservists, and troops from Allied and partner nations. For Saber Junction 16, held March 31 through April 24, the regiment will have a combined headcount just under 1,000 service members with 53% of the combat power coming from outside the unit.

The battalion commander, Lt. Col. Matthew T. Archambault, said his unit is used to integrating these disparate troops. "Building a team is nothing that's new to the United States Army. Here at 1-4 Infantry, we do it five times a year and we have to do it in about a week."

Staff Sgt. Jonathan Markle with C Company explained that training with Reserve or foreign soldiers is beneficial for not just his unit, but also for the units that augment the 1-4. "They can come here and get better training and then bring that back to the states where their home station is."

Archambault said working with augmentees has taught him and his Soldiers a great deal. "Our goal, here, it's not to teach them to be like 1-4 Infantry. It's to provide an environment in a two-week time frame for them to partner with us. We learn from them. They have a chance to have their own training objectives met and that's one of the things we always attempt to do."

Two years ago, the regiment lost a tank company due to downsizing constraints. Since then, the unit has been seeking to fill the gap to strengthen their wartime capabilities.

Slovenian augmentee and platoon leader Lt. Dennis Trebizan is on his third rotation attached to the 1-4, this time with 19 other Slovenians. He said he's learned a lot from U.S. troops, adding, "It's been a great experience. We are working together better and better every time we come here. At the beginning we had all sorts of problems with communications but it improves every time we come here."

Archambault said his troops are better technically and tactically-trained than their peers after their three-year tour.

"It's a learning experience both ways. They learn our tactics and we learn their tactics," said Spc. Derek Querzre from B Company.

During Saber Junction, his unit employed M113s, or armored personnel carriers, and Slovenian tankers to conduct maneuvers together on the rugged German countryside in order to take down Apache helicopters.

"We have fun with it," said Querzre, "we get good training out of it, and it's always a good time."

• Date Taken: 04.10.2016
• Date Posted: 04.14.2016 14:25
• Story ID: 195412
• Location: HOHENFELS, BY, DE