Photo By Capt. Caroline Pirchner | U.S. Army 1st Lt. Philip Anderson, a field artillery officer assigned to 1st...... read more read more
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DRAWSKO POMORSKIE TRAINING AREA, Poland (10/25/2021) - At the beginning of Victory Eagle, a joint exercise where 1st Infantry Division’s (1ID) 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team (1ABCT) and 1st Combat Aviation Brigade conducted joint and bilateral training with the Polish Land Forces (PLF), Soldiers and leaders started to prepare for a number of different missions. From providing air support to conducting armored operations, everybody’s plates were full. The same can be said for the 1ABCT’s 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery Regiment (1-5 FA), as they gathered with the PLF for a fires rehearsal.
During the rehearsal, 1st Lt. Philip Anderson, a field artillery officer assigned to 1-5 FA, noticed a familiar face in the crowd.
“We were standing there and we’re all introducing ourselves, and at the same time, I looked up, and I saw the Polish element that was there,” Anderson said, “and I was like, oh my goodness, that’s Piotr.”
Anderson attended the Field Artillery Basic Officer Leader Course (FABOLC) at Fort Sill, Okla., with 1st Lt. Piotr Jaworski, a fire support commander in the 1st Mechanized Battalion, 17th Mechanized Brigade, Polish Land Forces, in 2018.
“Oh yeah, I know you, I know your face,” Jaworski said after being approached by Anderson.
According to the U.S. Department of State, Poland received $2.95 million in International Military Education and Training (IMET) funding in 2019 and 2020. The goals of IMET are to provide professional military education and training to military students to increase professionalization, build capacity in key areas, enhance joint interoperability, create a better understanding of the U.S., and grow lasting military-to-military relationships. This type of funding allowed a FABOLC slot to be allocated to the Polish military. Jaworski, a prime candidate, was selected to attend the course.
As an expert with 10 years of artillery experience prior to attending FABOLC, he still found the course extremely beneficial to his career in the Polish military. He explained how it helped him learn about the U.S.’ capabilities.
“During BOLC, I saw that I don’t have appropriate knowledge about the [U.S.] equipment,” Jaworski said.
He shared how he initially lacked military and field artillery vocabulary in English and that the course helped broaden his knowledge on terminology.
“I achieved better skills in vocabulary, fire support vocabulary, and interoperability,” Jaworski said.
Anderson found Jaworski’s years of artillery experience extremely helpful. He said Jaworski’s prior knowledge from Poland helped the class to better understand manual gunnery and fire support.
“He was actually a pretty good assistant instructor, unofficially, to the rest of my BOLC classmates and myself,” Anderson said.
During Victory Eagle, Jaworski was able to apply his years of experience and knowledge from the course to his integral role in the exercise’s Fires and Effects Coordination Cell. He was responsible for effectively translating U.S. fires products and coordinating for the PLF during their combined arms operations. His efforts allowed Anderson’s battery to operate more efficiently. His battery conducted 20 fire missions, including two combined missions with the Polish artillery elements, which accurately and rapidly delivered fires across the mock battlefield.
Teamwork could be seen on all fronts, not just with the artillery elements. U.S. Apache helicopters were seen providing close air support while a nearby Polish helicopter conducted air assaults. Polish engineers conducted a breach to allow the U.S. forces to perform a counter attack during another portion of the exercise. Both countries proved to be more than capable in their abilities, making Victory Eagle an overall success.
When the teams were hard at work, sometimes an occasional morale boost was needed. Jaworski went searching for Anderson with the hope of delivering a gift that would do just that. He found Anderson’s commander who then got a hold of Anderson.
“He had a Polish MRE [Meal, Ready-to-Eat] waiting for me which was a cool surprise,” Anderson said. “We’re exchanging name tapes and a couple of patches.”
Anderson and Jaworski’s story is a testament to the U.S.’ dedication to its allied readiness and the effectiveness of its strategies to build both lasting relationships and interoperability.
“The Polish are a really important ally to us,” Anderson said. “To work together and figure out exactly what works best and what doesn’t, will enable us in the future to work much more closely given whatever requirements may be asked of us.”
| Date Taken: | 10.25.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 10.28.2021 17:07 |
| Story ID: | 408263 |
| Location: | DRAWSKO POMORSKIE, PL |
| Web Views: | 1,141 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Artillery school classmates reunite in Poland during joint exercise, by CPT Caroline Pirchner, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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