Photo By Alexandra Shea | Pvt. 1st Class Jhamek McKinzie, an indirect fire infantryman assigned to 2nd...... read more read more
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PABRADE, Lithuania – Troopers from 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division has arrived to the Pabrade Training Area, Lithuania, as rotational forces to build interoperability with Lithuanian Motorized Infantry “Griffin” Brigade and German NATO-enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup Lithuania.
As the regiment’s Troopers arrived, a weeklong sprint began to quickly and safely download and unpack field equipment and vehicles as their first mission: Ready to Fight.
“Ready to Fight means we are ready to train with and help defend this nation,” said Sgt. Maj. Nathanael Greene, 2-8 Cav. Reg. operations sergeant major. “We can’t leave a gap between the previous unit and us to ensure all our weapon platforms and vehicles work and are ready to go.”
As soon as the main body of Troopers arrived, they hit the ground running to ensure communication nodes were operational, vehicles were fueled and running, and fired all weapons platforms from the M9 side arm to the biggest platform, the M1 Abrams.
The end goal was to have all equipment and vehicles operational and poised to move in support of joint, multi-national training exercises or in the event of an actual foreign aggressor threatening Lithuanian boarders.
“We have done everything,” Greene said. “I believe we are Ready to Fight.”
On Dec. 11, 2020 the Stallions were officially Ready to Fight after a short week of main body personnel arriving. They can now focus on the planning of training events with Griffin Brigade and German NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group Lithuania. While COVID-19 is still a threat to all forces, additional planning is needed to continue joint training while ensuring all forces, support personnel and local residents remain safe from the virus.
Though the Stallion’s Troopers worked long hours to ensure they met the Ready to Fight mission, many remained positive and expressed the fun they had firing their respective weapon platforms.
“It was a little rush,” said Pvt. 1st Class Jhamek McKinzie. “It was worth the wait in the cold and it warmed me up pretty good.”
McKinzie, an indirect fire infantryman assigned to Headquarters, Headquarters Battalion, spent a couple of hours enduring the cold alongside his mortar team as they waited for the go ahead to fire their 120mm mortar shells.
“It rocks your insides a little bit,” McKinzie said.
The week was a whirlwind of Troopers moving and firing, battalion staff quickly took notice of their Trooper’s initiative to make the mission a success.
“Despite the condensed timeline and intense operational requirements, the Troopers exceeded expectations,” said Maj. Patrick Lynch, the battalion executive officer. “We are Ready to Fight!”
| Date Taken: | 12.14.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 12.15.2020 07:24 |
| Story ID: | 384923 |
| Location: | PABRADE, LT |
| Hometown: | FORT CAVAZOS, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 236 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, Stallions are Ready to Fight, by Alexandra Shea, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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