Photo By Pfc. Makayla Panzer | British army soldiers with the 15th Air Assault Support Squadron engage with civilian...... read more read more
HOHENFELS, Germany – Engines rumble to life as tactical vehicles line up behind a gate, ready to roll out with vital supplies: food, water, and equipment, across the rugged terrain of the Joint Multinational Readiness Center’s (JMRC) training area. But the convoy isn’t moving.
Instead, U.S. and British army soldiers find their path blocked – not by enemy forces, but by a crowd of civilians. Voices rise. Hands wave. Emotions flare. These aren’t real-world refugees, but role-players creating a high-pressure civil control scenario during exercise Saber Junction 25, held Sept. 8, 2025.
“What they're dealing with are refugees who have been evacuated over the last few weeks,” said Doug Boyd, project manager for the Atlas Operational Environment (OE) Team, JMRC. “What we’re doing here is seeing if our units understand escalation of force and can follow the rules of engagement, which is highly likely they may have to do this in times of war.”
The scenario, designed by Atlas Team, in which displaced civilians are separated from families, desperate for answers, and seeking aid. For the soldiers, the mission is clear: control the situation peacefully, follow proper protocols, and request the right support when needed.
U.S. Army soldiers, with the 83rd Combined Sustainment Support Battalion, and British army soldiers, with the 15th Air Assault Support Squadron, were evaluated by 7th Army Training Command (ATC) Observer-Coach Trainers (OCT), on their response, balancing restraint, empathy, and decisive action in an unpredictable scenario.
“We’re providing real-world scenarios to give them good coaching points for future training development,” said Maj. Paul Owens, an OCT with Adler Team. “We want them to fully understand the rules of engagement with the civilian populace and the process of safely requesting support from the Division to help them negotiate.”
The troops rose to the challenge.
Soldiers stayed calm under pressure, gathering information from the crowd, relaying what little they knew, and attempting to de-escalate tension. When the number of civilians swelled, some becoming aggressive, the soldiers didn’t hesitate to take appropriate action.
“They were screaming in our faces and trying to push in,” said British army Pvt. Kevin Wafula, a petroleum operator with the 15th Air Assault Support Squadron, 13th Air Assault Support Regiment, 16th Air Assault Brigade Combat Team. “We wanted to help them, so we tried to find out where they were coming from and what they needed.”
Wafula said he learned quickly how to stay focused under pressure, listening carefully while also evaluating how to assist the civilians safely and effectively.
“Of course, it’s stressful when you have all these different people yelling, asking for answers all at once,” said Sgt. Kendall Smullen, one of the notional civilian protesters with Atlas Team.
“They did an appropriate job of de-escalating the situation.”
That kind of stress is the point. The Atlas OE Team specializes in creating dynamic, mobile training environments, from small protest simulations to complex intelligence scenarios across NATO operations. Their mission is to modernize training and better prepare forces for the evolving challenges of modern warfare.
“It’s important because this is exactly what’s going on in the wars we fight today,” said Smullen. “Civilians remaining in towns, which are supposed to be evacuated, could be trapped. We need to know what to do when they ask for resources, supplies and help.”
Capt. Chris Jose, an OCT with the British army’s 47th Air Despatch Squadron, praised the British soldiers’ restraint and composure as the refugee simulation intensified. As tensions escalated, they called for military police assistance, demonstrating proper escalation of force procedures.
“We’ve seen recent crowd control operations in Afghanistan, where it has become a critical aspect in logistics," said Jose. “We’re likely to find displaced people, and they’re naturally going to converge on your locations, so it’s an essential part of the training.”
In today’s operational landscape, forces must be ready to deploy and sustain operations across vast distances, often in unpredictable environments. Through exercises like Saber Junction, the U.S. its Allied and Partner nations, train side by side to build trust, interoperability, and readiness for future conflicts.
“I’m working with other nations and learning new trades," said Wafula. “There’s an exchange of techniques between us, and I’ll be able to take this back to the U.K., or the next time we encounter working together as NATO forces.”
| Date Taken: | 09.09.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.10.2025 03:31 |
| Story ID: | 547610 |
| Location: | HOHENFELS, BAYERN, DE |
| Web Views: | 55 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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