Battle Group Poland Soldiers act out Alert Response!

BEMOWO PISKIE , POLAND

02.11.2019

Story by Sgt. Sarah Kirby 

278th Armored Cavalry Regiment, Tennessee Army National Guard

BEMOWO PISKIE, Poland — “Readiness will be our watchword,” said Lt. Gen. Christopher Cavoli, Command General of U.S. Army Europe. “It will be our mission, it will be our life, for it is in readiness that we find strength, and therefore in readiness that we find peace.”
Battle Group Poland (BGPol) is ready to fight tonight. To ensure this priority, the Polish Armed Forces 15th Mechanized Brigade tasked the battle group on January 30, with Operation Bull Run, a snap alert training exercise designed to test the readiness against spontaneous combat within a moment’s notice.
The battle group’s prime area of operation was the Suwalki Gap. For the first time in history, the M1 Abrams battle tank, the Bradley Fighting Vehicle and the Paladin self-propelled howitzer were transported by Heavy Equipment Transport Systems (HETS) to the Suwalki Gap region, also being the furthest in Eastern Poland. This feat required the patient and strategic dismount and remount of the armored vehicles and equipment in order to prevent damage to the Polish land owners’ property and infrastructure, all of which was entangled within yet another snowstorm.

“As with any mission in an extreme winter climate, you’re going to experience turbulence, but our prudent planning and preparation helped Battle Group Poland meet and overcome all of the challenges head on,” said U.S. Lt. Col. Donny Hebel, the commander of BGPol. “We had a unique challenge that had never been done before, moving armored vehicles into the Suwalki region in intense winter weather. However, our constant training proved we were ready. This was not only a success for the battle group, but for our host nation of Poland as well, this is an assurance to them and the community we operated in — we are committed to their regional stability and we can back that promise up.”
Among the troops participating was Tennessee National Guard Soldier, U.S. Army Sgt. Josh Crabtree, a mechanic assigned to BGPol, provided wheeled recovery to all assets participating including tanks.
“The weather was extremely challenging,” said Crabtree. “The temperatures stayed below freezing, and the heavy snow we received on our second night pushed us and our equipment to the limits. The weather was a huge deciding factor during everything we encountered, but it challenged all the crews to perform at their peak.”
Crabtree and his team prepared extensively for the mission.
“First we made sure our wrecker was 100% mission capable. Then my team and I ran through several different scenarios to make sure we were ready to handle anything that might arise.”
They checked the weather, added snow chains to their wheels along with extra recovery chains, fuel and packed 3 additional days of meal rations, just in case.

“There is a lot we can all take away from this exercise,” said U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Skyler Harris. “Knowing what can and cannot move in this harsh environment is so important to our mission, we are the first line of defense, Bull Run is the foundation in what we work from. Our recovery operations were successful when the time came, but everything in this weather takes time. Readiness is reinforced by all levels of leadership. My squad leaders and section sergeants always go the extra mile to ensure our Soldiers stay prepared and ready through countless hours of training in cold weather operations, battle drills or vehicle recovery.”
Operation Bull Run involved the alert, followed by the mobilization of the Ready Troop, a group which is strictly assigned to spontaneous crises, and the remainder of troops pulling security and occupying local training areas. “While we were conducting recovery operations in one of the neighborhoods, one of the land owners came out to see what was going on,” recalled Hebel. “So I went over to greet him and reassure him why we were here and it turned into a great 10-minute conversation about him having sons in the Polish armed forces — one of them is even a pilot. He was very proud of them, and for his support and enthusiasm for our mission here, I gave him one of my battle group coins.”
Moving forward, the battle group will be participating in Operation Raider Thunder, which involves the synchronization of platoon efforts across three range complexes to achieve a company level mission.
“Operation Bull Run was a success,” said Hebel. “All four nations, along with the host nation involved in the battle group, performed very well. We all displayed quick and decisive action. As with any exercise, we never take a step back, but add more variables in order to maximize our readiness. This further enhanced our capabilities, assuring Poland of our resolve and determination to deter enemy aggression, then if necessary be prepared to lethally defend it.”

• Date Taken: 02.11.2019
• Date Posted: 02.11.2019 06:15
• Story ID: 310254
• Location: BEMOWO PISKIE , PL