Anakonda 16 begins in Poland

Photo By 1st Sgt. Brent Williams | ORZYSZ, Poland--Leaders from mulitple nations stand together June 6, 2016 during the opening ceremonies of Exercise Anakonda 16. The exercise is a Polish-led, join, multinational exercise taking place in Poland from June 7-17 and involves more than 25,000 participants from more than 20 nations.  

ORZYSZ, POLAND

06.06.2016

Story by 1st Sgt. Brent Williams 

4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office

One of U.S. Army Europe’s (USAREUR) premier multinational training events, Exercise Anakonda 16, involving more than 20 Allied partners and over 25,000 participants began with opening ceremonies June 6 in Warsaw, Poland and Orzysz, Poland. ` Standing in formation at both ceremonies were U.S. Army Soldiers from 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga., and 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.
Maj. Gen. Ryan F. Gonsalves, commander of 4th Infantry Division and Fort Carson, represented the division at the ceremony in Warsaw while Col. Michael T. Oeschger, commander of 4th Inf. Div. Artillery, represented the division at the ceremony in Orzysz.
“I could not be more proud of what the Soldiers of the 4th Inf. Div. are doing across the globe—on three different continents. 4ID is no stranger to Europe. We’ve had a permanent mission command element headquartered out of Germany for the last year and half,” Gonsalves said. “However, participating in a multinational exercise in Poland is certainly a distinctive event due to both the strategic effects and full integration with our multinational partners to include Latvian, Hungarian and Polish Armies. This exercise demonstrates that we are shoulder to shoulder with our Polish and European allies.”
The 4th Inf. Div. Headquarters is the lead command and control for the Army’s training events that include multinational air assault and airborne operations, air defense operations, bridging operations and numerous other training events.
The division participated in a Warfighter Exercise in February with the newly established 4th Inf. Div. Artillery headquarters. Gonsalves added that the warfighter was a great success in rebuilding the comptencies that come with having a division artillery element, but pointed out the importance of the training in this multinational exercise.
“This exercise places some other conditions on us that will be of great training value such as hybrid threat transition into decisive action, a multinational command structure, as well as working through interoperability dilemmas and developing genuine and trusting relationships with our Latvian, Hungarian, and Polish partners,” he said.
Gonsalves stressed the importance of building these relationships with other nations through these types of exercises, adding that everyone working with a foreign Soldier is an important step in building trust.
“Our partnerships and interoperability with our European allies are paramount. Aside from the technical and tactical aspects, the most important thing in developing a successful partnership with our allies is trust,” he said. “And I know we are building trust between each other with every interaction a 4ID Soldier has with a Latvian, Hungarian, or Polish Soldier. Our Soldiers are working side-by-side, minute-by-minute, building friendships, sharing methods, and demonstrating to each other their competencies.
Closing ceremonies for Anakonda 16 are scheduled for June 17, officially ending the exercise.

• Date Taken: 06.06.2016
• Date Posted: 06.08.2016 15:17
• Story ID: 200385
• Location: ORZYSZ, PL