Exercise Falcon's Talon begins in Romania with visit from CSA

Photo By Sgt. Thomas Scaggs | Col. Clair A. Gill, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade commander, discusses exercise Falcon's Talon with Gen. Mark A. Milley, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, on August 9 in Romania. The exercise depends on junior leaders to execute commander's intent and use their adaptability and ingenuity to survive in a simulated conflict. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Thomas Scaggs) 170809-A-TZ475-062  

ROMANIA

08.09.2017

Story by Spc. Thomas Scaggs 

10th Combat Aviation Brigade

MIHAIL KOGĂLNICEANU AIR BASE, Romania -- The call comes in: alert the troops and execute the scatter plan, time now! The order is easier said than done for an aviation battalion. Platoon leaders gather their formations, assemble their gear, pack the helicopters, conduct final checks, and each unit quickly departs for preplanned, secluded hide sites.

Using techniques to mask their physical and electronic imprint, the units protect their high-value equipment and await further instructions, but communication with higher headquarters is sparse. They must rely on their leaders within to adapt and overcome in order to survive and preserve combat power.

This is how the culminating exercise, Falcon’s Talon, began for U.S. Army Europe’s first rotational-aviation brigade. The training event is designed specifically to test tactics, techniques and procedures that will be used in future conflicts to fight and win on an ever-changing, complex, multi-domain battlefield.

10th Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain Division (LI), began Exercise Falcon’s Talon in Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base, Romania at 2 a.m. on August 7, and on August 9, the brigade and battalion leadership hosted Gen. Mark A. Milley, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, at Babadag Training Area, Romania.

“Falcon’s Talon is about two things: reality and grit,” said Col. Clair A. Gill, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade commander. “It is an exercise that replicates the U.S. Army’s Fight Tonight mentality, and it’s about ingenuity and adaptability within our formation.”

Wearing camouflage paint and establishing fighting positions around a perimeter are tactics usually associated with infantry units, but in a complex warfighting environment, this aviation brigade is pushing the boundaries of convention. In this exercise, gone are the established forward operating bases and hard-stand buildings with a battalion gathered en masse and platoons receiving orders direct from the commander.

On the contrary, Falcon’s Talon demands the brigade draw on the many lessons learned during its time conducting the Atlantic Resolve mission. In Eastern Europe, commanders have learned that strength is derived from their platoon leaders and platoon sergeants—the junior leaders. These individuals are proving they can execute their commander’s intent and demonstrate disciplined initiative when they are given independence and encouraged to think outside the box.

Gen. Milley toured 2-10 Assault Helicopter Battalion’s hide sites during his visit to Romania. There, he spoke with Soldiers throughout the formation about the exercise and the importance of their ability to fight and win in the face of austerity. The next battlefield requires Soldiers to overcome adversity and exploit opportunity, much like Mountain Soldiers demonstrated in Italy in 1945.

Without direct order from their command, one unit sent a reconnaissance element out to a local town, dressed in civilian attire, to make friendly contacts and find subsistence. They also collectively decided to limit their cellphone usage within their hide site, so as not to create an electronic signature.

The exercise’s ability to foster high-level of thinking and planning – demanding its participants use their sense of ingenuity – is precisely its intent.

“I am most proud of how our junior leaders have demonstrated their ability to operate independent of a higher headquarters, but wholly within my commander’s intent,” said Gill. “We showed our Army’s Chief of Staff what miserable, disobedient, and victorious looks like in a disciplined warfighting unit. I am confident that he left knowing that the Falcon Brigade of the 10th Mountain Division stands ready when he or any commander calls on us.”

Falcon’s Talon will continue throughout Europe for the majority of the month of August and will end with the completion of advanced aerial gunnery tables and live fire exercises.

By the time the exercise concludes, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade will have relentlessly built readiness through a demanding operations tempo.

The goal of the rotational aviation brigade’s nine-month deployment to Europe is to demonstrate the capability of the U.S. Army to deter aggression throughout Europe and build interoperability alongside NATO Allies.

• Date Taken: 08.09.2017
• Date Posted: 08.11.2017 11:52
• Story ID: 244593
• Location: RO