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Mustangs return

Photo By Staff Sgt. Candace Mundt | A color guard of 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team,...... read more read more

HUNTER ARMY AIRFIELD, GA, UNITED STATES

12.13.2016

Story by Sgt. Joshua Laidacker

2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs

FORT STEWART, Ga. (Dec. 13, 2016) – Troopers of 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, returned from Yavoriv, Ukraine, to Fort Stewart, Ga., December 13, 2016.

For five months the Mustangs, as 6-8 Cav. is known, supported Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine, by building sustainable training capacity and capability within Ukrainian land forces.

“Our focus was to deliver relevant skill sets to [Ukrainian forces] so they could enhance their combat readiness and help progress their military,” said Lt. Col. Jay Wisham, commander of 6-8 Cav. “We had an absolutely phenomenal effort down to the lowest level.”

“The experience was awesome,” said Capt. Andrew Hibbs, commander of Bravo Troop. “My favorite part was watching the junior Soldiers step up to the plate, a lot of specialists and sergeants leading the charge.”

Hibbs said a majority of the training was led by noncommissioned officers.

“We got to show them the power of the NCO corps and just how strong it is, and they started giving that same power to their guys at the end,” Hibbs said. “It was awesome seeing the junior leaders leading the way every day.”

The squadron trained two Ukrainian battalions and assisted development of operations group staff instructors and opposition forces of the Combat Training Center at the International Peacekeeping and Security Center in Yavoriv.

“We ran two mission rehearsal exercises for Ukrainian Battalions,” Wisham said. “Those were basically two month-long exercises much like our [squadron training] events.”

Wisham and Hibbs said there was a two-way flow of learning during the rotation.

“They have an incredible amount of combat experiences based on their operations against separatist forces,” Wisham said. “We’ve pulled some things we’re going to incorporate into our training next year.”

“They’re a very professional force,” Wisham said. “We couldn’t have done it without our multinational partners.”

Troopers of 6-8 Cav. worked in a joint environment with not only Ukrainians but also international partners from Canada, Poland, Lithuania and Denmark.

“It’s truly amazing what Soldiers will do when committed to a mission and working together for a common purpose,” Wisham concluded.