NATO exercise brings heavy armor to Poland’s Eastern Flank

Photo By Sgt. Eric Allen | U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to 3rd Battalion, 66th Armored Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division received ground level information from scout elements after convoying from a designated start point during the Forward Land Forces Expansion exercise at Bemowo Piskie, Poland, Nov. 18, 2025. The scouts passed terrain and movement observations to the tank crews, enabling them to adjust their plan before maneuvering toward their next position. The task force provides combat-credible forces to V Corps, America’s only forward-deployed corps in Europe. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Eric Allen)  

POLAND

11.23.2025

Story by Sgt. Dakota Bradford 

100th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

BEMOWO PISKIE TRAINING AREA, Poland – U.S. forces moved Abrams M1A2 tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, and other armored platforms by rail from bases across Poland to Bemowo Piskie Training Area as part of the Forward Land Forces expansion, Amber Desire 25 training exercise, 10 - 22, Nov. 2025. The exercise transitioned the U.S. and NATO presence at BPTA from a battalion-size element to a brigade-level formation. More than 500 U.S. Army Soldiers and nearly three hundred pieces of armored military equipment from elements of 1st Infantry Division, including 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment; 3rd Battalion, 66th Armored Regiment; and 1st Engineer Battalion, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, repositioned across Poland to NATO’s Eastern Flank. One of the first challenges to overcome for the FLF expansion exercise begins immediately with a simulated large-scale crisis response where moving additional combat power, command-and-control capability and personnel is essential. U.S. Army Col. Matthew Kelley, commander, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, spoke of his unit's involvement with the FLF expansion. “We’ve brought additional capabilities, two battalions and our brigade headquarters to integrate with the NATO battlegroup here in northeastern Poland.” Moving heavy armor by rail from multiple locations requires planning and coordination with host-nation rail authorities, movement control teams, and unit leaders. The effort demonstrated U.S. forces' capability to load, transport and offload tanks and other armored vehicles to reinforce key terrain. The expansion at BPTA supports NATO’s broader regional defense plans in the Baltic Sea region and along the eastern flank. Multinational Division North East, headquartered in Elbląg, Poland, oversees the division-level framework for multinational battle groups in the region. “The FLF expansion is part of NATO’s plan to reinforce Poland’s eastern border and build up the multinational battle group here,” said Col. Michael Filanowski, Deputy Chief of Staff for operations, Multinational Division North East. The Commander of 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, Col. Kelley, relayed what he saw regarding where and how the U.S. fits within NATO and the fundamentals of interoperability. “What I’ll take back the most is how important our alliance structure is, and where the United States fits in not just as combat capability, but as a leader and an example for other countries.”  Kelley elaborated more on interoperability, “There’s a human dimension to interoperability and communication that I think is fundamental,” Kelley said. “It comes down to the relationships that you can only develop when you’re on the ground with your partners in their country, and that’s vital to our efforts here. We’ve really had some great successes as far as that goes,” he said.  U.S. and NATO forces regularly conduct combined training and posture adjustments such as the FLF expansion to validate warfighting concepts, improve interoperability, and ensure the alliance can rapidly move to concentrate heavy forces in support of collective defense.

• Date Taken: 11.23.2025
• Date Posted: 11.26.2025 04:50
• Story ID: 552441
• Location: PL