3-69 AR conducts water crossing with Polish troops

Photo By Lauren Harrah | TRZEBIEN, Poland – Soldiers of Company D, 3rd Combined Arms Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, based out of Ft. Stewart, Ga., conduct a water crossing mounted in a M1A2 Abrams tank during joint training at Zagan Training Area, Poland, Aug. 24, 2016. The joint water crossing exercise included Polish soldiers of the 10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade, 11th Armoured Division, who facilitated the deployment of two armored vehicle-launched bridges for Polish BMP infantry fighting vehicles and U.S. Bradley fighting vehicles to cross at an adjacent location. The D Co. “Dark Knights” are currently on a training rotation in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve, a U.S. led effort in Eastern Europe that demonstrates U.S. commitment to the collective security of NATO and enduring peace and stability in the region.  

POLAND

08.24.2016

Story by Sgt. Lauren Harrah 

24th Theater Public Affairs Support Element

TRZEBIEN, Poland – Concealed among thick foliage, camouflaged faces patiently scanned the water’s edge from behind the scope of their M4 carbines. When the signal was given, dismounted troops quietly slipped into the frigid, flowing water and secured the far side of the river, making way for M1A2 Abrams tanks to ford through.

Soldiers of Company D, 3rd Combined Arms Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, joined forces with Polish Soldiers of the 10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade, 11th Armoured Division, to conduct a river crossing exercise at Zagan Training Area, Poland, Aug. 24, 2016.

At an adjacent break in the woodline, Polish engineers deployed two armored vehicle-launched bridges to span the width of the waterway. At this location additional forces crossed, including two U.S. crews mounted in M2A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles and Polish crews in BMP infantry fighting vehicles.

“We were able to see how their tactics and our tactics mesh together to accomplish the mission,” said Staff Sgt. Brian Gougler, squad leader, D Co., 3-69 AR. “It was a good mixture allowing everyone to have a say in what was happening.”

Planning and communication played a significant role in the preparation and success of this exercise explained Gougler. By walking through the plan in an open field the day prior and making sure leaders from both sides were on the same page, Soldiers tackled the unfamiliar terrain, and the operation went smoothly.

“The weekly syncs that the commander, the command groups, and the interpreters have with the Polish command group have been instrumental in allowing us to come out here and do the things we do,” said 1st Sgt. Mark Martin, senior enlisted advisior, D Co., 3-69 AR.

For a number of the Soldiers, this was also their first time conducting a water crossing. When a new mission arises downrange, Soldiers have to be ready to link up with other countries and tackle problems they may have never seen or planned for, Gougler said.

“If we were ever to be in a combat situation, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a water crossing, we both have a better understanding of how the other works,” Gougler said. “The water crossing was just today’s task, it could have been anything and now we have a better understanding of how they work and vice versa.”

• Date Taken: 08.24.2016
• Date Posted: 08.29.2016 08:43
• Story ID: 208376
• Location: PL