US and NATO Allies complete Exercise Justice Eagle 22

Photo By Spc. Destinee Rodriguez | Portuguese soldiers, assigned to the Portuguese Military Contingent, examine the U.S. Army M4 Carbine weapon system during Exercise Justice Eagle, at Smardan Training Area, Romania, on Sept. 17, 2022. Under command and control of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault); 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, continues to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank and engage in multinational exercises like Justice Eagle with Allies and partners across the European continent to reassure our Nation’s Allies. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Destinee Rodriguez)  

SMARDAN, ROMANIA

09.21.2022

Story by Pfc. Destinee Rodriguez 

5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment   

SMARDAN TRAINING AREA, Romania – U.S. Soldiers assigned to Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division alongside other NATO allies and security partners conducted Justice Eagle 22 from Sept. 16-22, 2022.

Justice Eagle is an annual, multinational training event in Romania focused on increasing the trust, readiness and interoperability of participating NATO allies. Each country is tasked with executing company-level training exercises with the goal of creating cohesion and integration into the Romanian defense forces.

“We want to integrate other countries into our training and use each other’s cultures and experiences to share and create a cohesive unit,” said U.S. Army 1st Lt. Maggie Ramsey, an Alpha Company platoon leader. “We really had to understand that we’re all different but also very similar at the same time.”

The countries worked closely throughout the exercise, the U.S. working alongside soldiers from France a part of NATO's enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup in Romania, Poland's and Portugal's military contingents, and Romania's 20th Infantry Battalion.

“Our company hosted a Polish platoon and one of ours was sent to the Portuguese,” said U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Alex Juarez, a platoon sergeant assigned to participating armor unit.

Each country had its own methods of preparation and training timeline prior to the exercise. The U.S. took the month prior to train and certify each of its Soldiers partaking in the exercise to ensure troops could dive straight into the integrated training.

“We had to complete certain certifications such as squad live fire, platoon live fire, and gunnery,” said Ramsey. “We had to get our unit up to standard and ready to hit the ground running.”

Once on the ground, the integration of troops began with a familiarization of the different equipment and weapon systems each country planned to utilize. Each country showcased their standard weapon systems, fighting vehicles, and squad formations and movements.

Various media outlet got a chance to learn more with a multinational static display and a rehearsal of the culminating event. Subject matter experts from each country presented and answered questions on the vehicles and weapons systems on display. The U.S. showcased a M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle, as well as the M4 Carbine and the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon. The event concluded with a CF-18 Hornet flyover from the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Wrapping up the week-long exercise, the combined arms live-fire exercise (CALFEX) demonstrated the partner nations’ abilities of complete unilateral and integrated notional missions in a simulated combat environment.

“We started with the Bradley gunnery and moved into dismounted capabilities and maneuver training," Juarez shared. “The objective of the live-fire was to force multiply our interoperability with our allied partners.”

The CALFEX showcased multinational capabilities through joint maneuvers, dismounts and tactical procedures. By completing the objectives, each country expressed that they improved the confidence, communication and interoperability between themselves and their foreign counterparts.

Training exercises, such as Justice Eagle, remain an important part of ensuring the interoperability of NATO allies and partners.

“I think exercises like Justice Eagle build cohesion not only in Europe, but worldwide,” said Ramsey. “It establishes a strong foothold with each other and shows the rest of the world that we can work properly together.”

• Date Taken: 09.21.2022
• Date Posted: 10.23.2022 14:12
• Story ID: 429756
• Location: SMARDAN, RO