Multinational exercise Combined Resolve kicks off in Germany for Raider Brigade

Photo By Spc. Leonard Beckett | U.S. Army Col. Anthony T. Murtha, Commander, Operations Group, Joint Multinational Readiness Center, conducts a Rehearsal Of Concept drill in preparation for Exercise Combined Resolve 17 (CBR17) at Hohenfels, Germany, May 18, 2022. CBR17 is a United States Army Europe and Africa directed rotation that certifies a unit’s Mission Essential Training proficiency in Unified Land Operations within a Decisive Action Training Environment and involves approximately 5,000 soldiers from the U.S., Allied, and Partnered nations. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Leonard Beckett)  

HOHENFELS, GERMANY

05.20.2022

Story by Trice Denny 

7th Army Training Command

GRAFENWOEHR, Germany – The U.S. Army and Allies and partners will build interoperability as exercise Combined Resolve XVII begins May 20 in the 7th Army Training Command’s Joint Multinational Readiness Center at Hohenfels Training Area, Germany.

Combined Resolve XVII provides a combat training center rotation for the U.S. Army’s 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division. The unit deployed to Europe as part of the XVIII Airborne Corps’ Immediate Response Force on short notice in February to support NATO allies and deter further aggression against NATO member states after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

"This large-scale, multinational training exercise will ensure that the Raider Brigade can accomplish those objectives for a strong Europe,” said Col. Peter Moon, commander, 1/3 ID. “Our Soldiers will also gain valuable experience as they train alongside counterparts from across Europe, increasing interoperability and sustaining lasting relationships with our allies."

Approximately 5,600 Soldiers from Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Kosovo, Lithuania, Moldova, North Macedonia, Poland, and the U.S. will participate in CbR XVII. Additional U.S. units participating in CbR include another regionally allocated force in Europe, the 1st Air Cavalry Bde., 1st Cav. Div., from Fort Hood, Texas, who has been in theater on a rotational deployment since November 2021 in support of Atlantic Resolve; U.S. Army Reserve detachments; as well as the European-based 18th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 16th Sust. Bde., 21st Theater Sustainment Command.

The exercise will evaluate and assess 1/3 ID’s ability to conduct operations alongside these other countries and units in a complex, multi-domain simulated battlespace, and this iteration also will include Army modernization efforts with simulations involving ground robotics and autonomy, provided by the Army Combat Capabilities Development Command.

The 1/3 ID, comprised of approximately 3,800 Soldiers from Fort Stewart, Georgia, arrived in Grafenwoehr at the end of February and was swiftly equipped from 405th Army Field Support Bde.’s Army Prepositioned Stock-2 sites, which was the first time for an APS-2 to outfit an entire armored brigade deployed to Europe.

Since its arrival, the Raider Bde. has validated that APS-drawn equipment in Grafenwoehr and now, they’re ready to put unit training to the test. The U.S. and multinational units will occupy a 40,000-acre battlefield within the hilly terrain of this southern region of Germany.

JMRC, a directorate under 7th ATC, is the Army’s only Combat Training Center outside the U.S., and provides a realistic maneuver training capability in Europe that can be tailored for U.S., allied and partner units.

"JMRC is the premier training area to provide scenarios necessary to dominate unified land operations anywhere in the world, now and in the future," said Maj. Tad Coleman, JMRC chief of staff. "Trained and readied-U.S. or multinational units in Europe are a credible deterrent to adversaries, and assure our partners."

JMRC hosts the Combined Resolve series twice a year, focused on strengthening interoperability with U.S. rotations and Allies and partners, while validating regionally allocated forces rotations’ readiness. The latest CbR iteration for 1st Armored BCT, 1st Inf. Div. concluded December 2021 at JMRC.

Combined Resolve XVII is scheduled to finish June 19.

About the Raider Brigade
The 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division was first constituted on Nov. 12, 1917, at Fort Bliss, Texas. In less than six months, the brigade deployed to France. During World War I, the brigade participated in battles such as the Aisne Defensive, Chateau Thierry and the Champagne-Marne Defensive. The brigade conducted offensive actions at Aisne Marne and Saint Mihiel, breaking the three-year stalemate of trench warfare.

Over the years, the Raider Bde. has deployed to North Africa, Iraq, Afghanistan, multiple countries in eastern Europe and Korea.

• Date Taken: 05.20.2022
• Date Posted: 05.20.2022 05:17
• Story ID: 421140
• Location: HOHENFELS, DE