Photo By Sgt. Erica Earl | Soldiers from the 5th Battalion 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment set a crane into...... read more read more
Subscribe
KOPER, Slovenia—U.S. Soldiers from the 5th Battalion 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment bolted from Humvees to their Patriot launchers, shouting over the buzz of the generators for communication, in an exercise practicing swift response.
The 5-7 ADA, headquartered at Smith Barracks in Baumholder, Germany, held missile movement and reload training, as well as an alert state assumption practice, in Koper, Slovenia, June 3 2019.
As part of exercise Astral Knight 19, these Soldiers are tasked with maintaining readiness of the Patriot Missile Defense Systems. Their role in the exercise with Slovenian allies is to protect the Port of Koper.
Astral Knight 19 is a multinational combined exercise designed to test integrated air and missile defense capabilities. The exercise involves a combination of flight operations and computer-assisted scenarios.
For the missile movement and reload training, Soldiers have to move canisters that weigh over 4,000 pounds in under 16 minutes, a task that requires a five-man team.
Pvt. 1st Class Alejandro Calleros, a Patriot Launching Station Enhanced Operator-Maintainer from the 5-7 ADA, said offloading and on loading the canisters and keeping the launcher steady takes team chemistry and synchronization that has allowed him to bond with his squad, with whom he has been with for about a year.
“You get into a rhythm,” Calleros said.
He added that playing video games with his team has helped them work together in unison on the launchers.
Sgt. Ian Ledesma, also a Patriot Launching Station Enhanced Operator-Maintainer from the 5-7 ADA, described the teamwork involved for the quick reloading of the launchers as exhilarating, and added that it has inspired some friendly competition in his unit.
Ledesma said that one of the most satisfying pieces of Astral Knight 19 is how it promotes in aiding allies in Slovenia.
“Our allies get to see our strength and capabilities and how easily we are able to deploy a Patriot unit from Germany across Europe,” Ledesma said. “It’s all about strengthening our NATO allies at the end of the day.”
| Date Taken: | 06.03.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 06.03.2019 16:32 |
| Story ID: | 325197 |
| Location: | KOPER, SI |
| Hometown: | BAUMHOLDER, RHEINLAND-PFALZ, DE |
| Web Views: | 167 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Exercise Astral Knight 19 kicks off in Slovenia in Slovenia., by SGT Erica Earl, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
