Photo By Airman 1st Class Sarah Hoover | Maryland Army National Guard Soldiers of the 200th Military Police Company, 115th...... read more read more
KNIN, Croatia – More than 100 Maryland Army National Guard Soldiers trained with the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina (AFBiH) to support NATO’s large-scale exercise Immediate Response 25 at the Red Land Training Area in Croatia, May 27-June 10, 2025.
The Maryland Army National Guardsmen from the 115th Military Police Battalion, including Soldiers of the 200th Military Police Company and Headquarters-Headquarters Detachment, participated in the DEFENDER 25 exercise with members of the AFBiH Light Infantry Battlegroup. Approximately 350 members of the AFBiH Light Infantry Battlegroup conducted a 400-kilometer convoy into Croatia to train with the Maryland Soldiers, which is considered the largest deployment of the AFBiH outside of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
According to Maryland Army National Guard Lt. Col. John Rodriguez, commander of the 115th Military Police Battalion, the units integrated with the AFBiH to conduct situational training exercises and live-fire exercises, while also utilizing the military decision-making process staff training with the partner forces.
“I was very impressed by the professionalism and proficiency of the Light Infantry Battlegroup, and I’m confident our Soldiers have had the chance to learn a lot from this experience,” said Rodriguez, who deployed to Afghanistan in 2008-09. “I served in Afghanistan fighting alongside the Afghan National Army, as well as our NATO partners, including Bosnia and Herzegovina. So this interoperability is crucial and has improved our capabilities to operate and execute our real-world federal missions.”
The AFBiH Light Infantry Battlegroup is made up of various units, including three infantry companies, an artillery battery, a logistics company, a battle support company, a military police platoon, a human intelligence section, a civil-military cooperation team, an explosive ordnance disposal platoon, a two-person helicopter crew, and a public affairs team from the Media Information Center.
“The soldiers have been doing awesome and are getting after it,” said Maryland Army National Guard Capt. Dylan Bradford, commander of the 200th Military Police Company. “They have been working with their counterparts and have been attached to different units within the Light Infantry Battlegroup. The platoon leaders have been planning missions and executing them right alongside the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as their support units.”
During the joint training, members participated in situational training lanes for three days, convoying through the mountains of Knin and reacting to improvised explosive devices, conducting a cordon and search, and movement to contact.
“My primary role here has been to plan and coordinate the opposing forces, or the OPFOR, for all of the missions that the companies and the platoons have conducted,” said Maryland Army National Guard Capt. Allison Vierps, assistant S3 with the 115th Military Police Battalion, Headquarters-Headquarters Detachment, and organizer for the situational training lanes. “It's been a bit of a challenge, but also really fun. I served as the observer controller trainer (OCT) alongside the Bosnian OCTs, so we got to coordinate together and figure out how my unit was doing versus theirs, and figure out where the shortfalls were in the training to make sure that everything was going according to doctrine.”
Vierps called the hard work and improvement of the AFBiH throughout the entire process of the training “phenomenal.“
Soldiers of the Maryland Army National Guard exchanged knowledge with members of the AFBiH, including armored-vehicle maintenance, live-fire and simulated combat, convoy and reconnaissance procedures, security checkpoints, and vehicle inspections.
“This has given us a great opportunity to build on those fundamental basic soldier skills and all of the sustainment functions that happen behind the scenes,” said Rodriguez. “We were exercising our equipment and vehicles, which then put our maintenance teams to the test, so they were working hard throughout the exercise to keep the vehicles up and running.”
During the training, Soldiers led two days of weapons familiarization and live-fire practice with the AFBiH Light Infantry Battlegroup at the Mark 4 weapons range and the crew-served weapons range, operating the Mark 2 .50-caliber machine gun, Mark 19 grenade launcher, and Mark 4 rifle.
“I’ve had a great time going out on missions,” said Maryland Army National Guard Sgt. Tara Maccarone, assigned to the 200th Military Police Company. “This is my first time ever in Europe and working with our counterparts, so I’ve learned a lot. It's been really good to get that cohesion and unity through our partnership.”
While soldiers have been going out on missions, the staff of the Headquarters-Headquarters Detachment worked in cooperation with the Bosnian tactical operation center in contributing to their military decision-making process and planning missions for Soldiers and their AFBiH counterparts.
The Soldiers have also led after-hours training, such as maneuvering under low-light or no-light conditions with night vision and operating vehicles within a blackout. Additionally, they’ve assisted the AFBiH medical team to simulate casualties in the field and practice medical care for injured troops.
“We've conducted training exercises and have made a cross-cultural impact, overcoming language barriers working together, getting out in the field and doing reconnaissance, conducting checkpoints, along with a few other military police and maneuver mobility support-related tasks,” said Bradford.
In addition to the training, a Distinguished Visitors day was held on June 4 at the Mark 4 weapons range and involved a convoy ambush demonstration by the Maryland National Guard and AFBiH, and included a MEDEVAC helicopter response to a simulated casualty.
Members of the Maryland Army National Guard who attended the DV day were Brig. Gen. Andrew W. Collins, commander for the Maryland Army National Guard, Command Sgt Maj. Patrick M. Metzger, Maryland Army National Guard command sergeant major, and Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Morehouse, 58th Troop Command brigade command sergeant major.
“This training is an invaluable tool to get after readiness and lethality, for not only our soldiers, but also soldiers from Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Collins. “I used to be the commander for the Combined Task Force Chesapeake in Afghanistan, and deployed with a platoon from Bosnia and Herzegovina. This exercise we're doing here is a continuation of that effort of building that partnership and building those relationships.”
Since 2003, the Maryland National Guard and the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina have been partners through the National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program. In 2013, the 115th Military Police Battalion had a co-deployment to Afghanistan with AFBiH.
Maryland Army National Guard Command Sgt. Brandy Hayward, command sergeant major for the 115th Military Police Battalion, Headquarters-Headquarters Detachment, AFBiH Maj. Teo Domuz, officer for Public Relations for Internal Information, Media Information Center, and Capt. Emir Bašić, commander of the Military Police forces for the Light Infantry Battlegroup, were also deployed to Afghanistan in 2013 and reunited during Immediate Response 25.
Also in attendance for the DV day were Croatian Armed Forces Maj. Gen. Denis Tretinjak, director of the General Staff, AFBiH Maj. Gen. Mirzet Lubenovic, commander of the Operational Command, AFBiH Maj. Gen. Tomo Kolenda, deputy chief of the Joint Staff, and AFBiH Maj. Gen. Zdravko Rezo, commander of the Support Command, as well as Trey Lyons, chargé d’affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Zagreb. The demonstration was hosted by AFBiH Maj. Samir Husanović, commander of the 1st Infantry Battalion, 5th Brigade.
After many hours of hard work and preparation, the culminating event for the training involved Soldiers of the 200th Military Police Company and the AFBiH Light Infantry Battlegroup conducting four iterations of a live-fire exercise at the crew-served weapons range. This involved Soldiers providing cover fire with their crew-served weapons while dismounted members of the AFBiH infantry and military police units overcame the objective on the ground.
“It's a process of growth for our soldiers and gives them a chance to do something very different from what they're used to doing and expands their overview of what they have available,” said Maryland Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Jeremiah Gonzalez, acting first sergeant for the 200th Military Police Company, assigned to the 115th Military Police Battalion. “It also gives them perspective on the resources they have on a daily basis with the equipment and training they've been provided and they’re able to compare and see where they have value and where they have space to grow.”
As a final event to further collaborate with the AFBiH through a friendly competition, the Maryland Army National Guard Soldiers conducted a joint marksmanship “Top-Shot” competition at the Mark 4 weapons range. Eight competitors from both nations each conducted challenging physical fitness events right up to the firing line before shooting their weapons downrange.
“There they engaged targets, had to conduct reloads under pressure, and moved increasingly further back from the firing line, which made it more difficult,” said Bradford. “It was a fun event and a great morale booster to end our annual training.”
Simultaneously occurring on the anniversary of D-Day and the Allied invasion of Normandy, the training marked the continuation of the contribution to the legacy of U.S. joint partnership with allied countries in Europe.
“I'm very proud of my troops, and this has been a phenomenal experience for our Maryland Army National Guard Soldiers working with the Armed Forces of BiH, and we hope to continue to foster this relationship moving forward,” said Bradford.
Immediate Response-DEFENDER 25 is a U.S. Army large-scale exercise that included 12,000 participants and was hosted in eight countries to include Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Slovakia. Immediate Response 25 sought to enhance NATO integration through state partnership readiness programs and further equip NATO’s regional plans and uphold U.S. commitments to the Alliance.
| Date Taken: | 06.11.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 06.12.2025 15:32 |
| Story ID: | 500371 |
| Location: | KNIN, HR |
| Web Views: | 238 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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