Sky Soldiers make history in Turkey

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Whitney Hughes | Soldiers with Alpha Company, 54th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 173rd Airborne Brigade learns Turkish phrases from a Turkish soldier May 20. The two were participating in Exercise EFES 16, which is a biannual training Turkish-led training exercise. This is the first time the U.S. has been invited to participate in the exercise which includes about 5,000 soldiers from Great Britain, Poland, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, and Qatar.  

TURKEY

05.21.2016

Story by Staff Sgt. Whitney Hughes 

U.S. Army Europe and Africa     

Sky Soldiers are no strangers to making their mark in history, especially in Europe. However, this week the paratroopers and their Turkish partners carved their names side-by-side in Asia's history.

The Soldiers from A Company, 54th Brigade Engineer Battalion, of the 173rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne) along with U.S. Navy Sailors from the U.S.S. Donald Cook, are the first U.S. service members to participate in Turkey's largest annual military exercise, which began May 4. This year it includes about 5,000 military members from nine different nations. The Turkish-led exercise also broke more international boundaries by including participants from the British, Polish, German, Saudi Arabian, Pakistani, Azerbaijani, and Qatari militaries.

"I am very proud that the 173rd is the unit here to represent the U.S. Army, but at the end of the day it's all about building enduring relationships," said Maj. Gary Dales, the executive officer for the engineer battalion.

During the first part of the exercise the Soldiers conducted a Command Post Exercise (CPX), which is a simulated exercise where leaders practice strategic planning. This week, the Soldiers began training in the field, shoulder-to-shoulder with Soldiers from other nations, on everything from patrolling to demolition.

These Situational Training Exercise (STX) lanes are part of the military crawl, walk, run training scheme. In the crawl phase the Soldiers practice in a controlled environment where they can learn and refine their skills. These types of exercises are key for a multi-national exercise that includes eight countries, and many language barriers.

"The days of a fighting a war with one country are over, so we need our partners," said the U.S. Army Europe Operations Sgt. Maj. Necati Akpinar. Akpinar, a U.S. Soldier and Turkish native, went on to explain that the national exercise was already a biannual event and it just made sense for U.S. Soldiers to seize the opportunity to train with fellow NATO countries, in Turkey, which is a NATO ally.

Sharing tactics is not the only intent, but this also sparks the key personal relationships that multinational exercises are intended to build.

"The biggest thing is their (his Soldiers') ability to interact and interoperate with other nations," said Sgt. 1st Class Zachery Rieck, a platoon sergeant for the engineer company. "It's hard to take a 19 or 18 year old kid from America and throw them into a group of Polish, German, or Turkish allies; they are not used to that, we are not used to that as Americans. So getting them that cultural growth is the biggest measure of success we can have here."

After the foundation of partnership is laid, the Soldiers and Sailors move on to putting these relationships to the test. Next they will practice multifaceted operations that require the nations to perform together as moving parts of a complex machine. They will demonstrate this capability later in the week during both an air and amphibious assault and prove that the strength of their partnerships make them a force to be reckoned with.

• Date Taken: 05.21.2016
• Date Posted: 05.21.2016 15:31
• Story ID: 198703
• Location: TR