Photo By Staff Sgt. Eliezer Melendez | From left, U.S. Army Spc. Jonathan Guernsey and U.S. Army Spc. Khym Wilson, both...... read more read more
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More than 20,000 servicemembers from over 20 countries supporting the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, to include National Guard, showcased their integrated military capabilities during large-scale exercises throughout Europe during April and May.
This compilation of the world’s largest peacetime military alliance conducted activities ranging from cyber warfare to airborne operations across Baltic and Balkan regions, bordering the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
These exercises are designed to ensure the U.S., NATO and its partner nations, “are prepared to defend every inch of NATO territory with a strong, combat-credible force to ensure we stay stronger together in the face of any aggression," said Gen. Christopher Cavoli, U.S. Army Europe and Africa commanding general.
The Guard supported exercises Locked Shields, Swift Response and DEFENDER-Europe 2022. Guard members traveled to Europe from Connecticut, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont, and West Virginia to participate in the exercises.
So far this year, more than 4,000 Guard members supported these and other exercises in Europe.
“The National Guard has been a major contributor to U.S. European Command exercises this year,” said U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Jessica Meyeraan, director of USEUCOM exercises and assessments. “When these forces train alongside allies and partners, it’s mutually beneficial. Not only does it improve interoperability and capability within the alliance, the National Guard units receive immeasurable benefit from these training engagements.”
In April, West Virginia and North Carolina National Guard members joined exercise Locked Shields 22, one of the world’s largest international cyber defense exercise with more than 2,000 participants from 24 nations. The annual exercise was run virtually by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallinn, Estonia, April 19-21.
During the exercise, the participants formed Cyber Rapid Reaction Teams, and deployed to assist a fictional country in handling a large-scale cyber incident.
“I think Locked Shields showcased the unique capabilities the National Guard is able to bring to the cyber battlefront,” said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ian Frist, an exercise participant with the West Virginia Guard’s 197th Regiment (Regional Training Institute). “Living in both worlds gives me an incredibly unique perspective on cybersecurity operations that I felt was indispensable during the exercise,” he said.
In addition, participating in exercises remotely from the U.S., Guard members also traveled to Europe to participate in exercises like Swift Response 22, which focused on airborne and air assault operations. The annual U.S. Army Europe and Africa Command multinational training exercise included forces from 17 countries and took place from May 2-20 in Norway, Latvia, Lithuania and North Macedonia.
In North Macedonia, Vermont National Guard members were able to build on their existing partnership with their NATO counterparts.
The two militaries are uniquely familiar with each other as they have trained together since 1993, as part of the Department of Defense’s State Partnership Program, which is administered by the National Guard Bureau. The program pairs each state’s National Guard with the armed forces of partner countries in a cooperative, mutually beneficial relationship. The SPP has 87 partnerships with 95 countries – 45% of the world’s nations. Additionally, 22 of those partnerships are in Europe, and 13 are with NATO members.
“Now that North Macedonia is a part of NATO, it opens the door for them to participate in more training exercises with the U.S. and its NATO partners,” said U.S. Army Col. Justin Davis, Vermont National Guard director of plans and operations. "As our state partner, it only increases our relationship building between the Vermont National Guard and North Macedonia.”
Before participating in Swift Response, the Vermont National Guard had already conducted more than 350 military to military engagements with North Macedonia through the program. However, most of the 120 Vermont Army National Guard members who traveled to North Macedonia were members of Company A, 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry (Mountain), 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain). Many of these Soldiers have recently been deployed to desert terrain in support of U.S. Central Command, so they welcomed the opportunity to train in Europe.
“For most of our Soldiers it will be the first time they have trained in Europe,” said U.S. Army Capt. Aaron Harkness, assistant plans officer with the battalion. “The environment, terrain, and training mission are different from what we have been focusing on over the last two years. It will be great for us to get back to training in a mountainous environment where we can utilize the terrain to our advantage.”
In addition to training on the ground, another 120 National Guard members from Maryland Air National Guard’s 175th Wing also supported the exercise from the sky with 10 A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft.
“While operating in North Macedonia posed unique challenges, they were quickly overcome by world class host nation support, and the solely unique capabilities of the A-10 were brought to the fight with 100% success,” said U.S. Air Force Maj. Chris Hoffman, a pilot with the wing, and the project officer for the North Macedonian portion of the exercise. “The team building across multiple military branches and NATO partners was unparalleled to anything prior.”
Simultaneously to the 9,000 multi-national personnel conducting Swift Response, more than 8,000 more were taking part in DEFENDER-Europe 22, which continues through the end of June. More than 1,300 Guard members made up roughly one third of the U.S.-based personnel who traveled to Europe to participate in the exercise.
DEFENDER-Europe 22 spans across nine countries; Denmark, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, and Estonia. It is an annual large-scale U.S. Army-led, multinational, joint exercise designed to build readiness and interoperability between 11 U.S., NATO and partner militaries.
"When we started the exercise, I asked you all to become a strong team, because that's what this alliance is all about," said Slovakian Lt. Gen. Pavel Macko, the deputy chief of the general staff of the armed forces of the Slovak Republic. “I've seen a strong team, many different uniforms, heard different accents, but I can tell you we speak the same language of values, we speak the same the language of tactics.”
These annual large-scale exercises are neither new or unfamiliar to the National Guard, U.S. military, or their NATO allies. Exercises in Europe are planned and conducted year-round to maintain the readiness of strategic partnerships, while sustaining normal operations in the rest of Europe.
The Guard will continue to be a large presence in the ranks of the 64,000 U.S. military personnel supporting U.S. European Command exercises.
“The propensity to utilize National Guard units during U.S. European Command exercises and operations is a testament to the unique capability and expertise these service members bring to the theater,” said Meyeraan. “As we continue to train alongside our allies and partners, the National Guard will continue to have a significant role in those activities.”
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The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed in the aftermath of World War II with the signing of the Washington Treaty in 1949. NATO is a political and military security alliance of 30 countries from North America and Europe. When it was formed, the alliance’s creation was part of a broader effort to serve three purposes: deterring Soviet expansionism, forbidding the revival of nationalist militarism in Europe through a strong North American presence on the continent, and encouraging European political integration. Today, NATO’s fundamental goal is to safeguard the allies’ freedom and security by political and military means.
| Date Taken: | 06.01.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 06.01.2022 14:51 |
| Story ID: | 421956 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 166 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, National Guard support strengthens NATO readiness in Europe, by SFC Whitney Hughes, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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