CAMP MIKE SPANN, Afghanistan – A platoon of German soldiers stood in formation awaiting their names to be called during a ceremony here June 15, where they received certificates and marksmanship badges from leaders with 40th Engineer Battalion, 170th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
Soldiers with the “Bayonet” Brigade conduct joint combat missions with their foreign allies throughout Afghanistan. The Baumholder, Germany-based brigade is definitely no stranger to its German counterparts.
In recent months, “Ram” Battalion soldiers fired three German army weapon systems and earned the country’s marksmanship badge known as Schutzenschnur. The badge is one of three foreign awards authorized for wear on a U.S. Army dress uniform.
Soldiers with 40th Engineers then held a range at a nearby compound May 12, allowing their German counterparts to participate in a U.S. marksmanship qualification course. This was done as a gesture of gratitude to the German force, said U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Donald Hoover, a Magalia, Calif. native, now the 40th Engineers operations non-commissioned officer.
German soldiers fired the U.S. Army M4 carbines and M240B machine gun at paper targets. All 17 German army soldiers walked away with U.S. Army expert marksmanship badges.
“I jumped at this opportunity to give back to our German partners. [With our unit] being from Germany definitely makes this much more fulfilling,” Hoover said.
During the ceremony, a narrator read a “brothers-in-arms” speech to the recipients of the marksmanship badges. The soldier explained the process for successfully passing a U.S. weapons qualification course and the meaning behind the marksmanship badges.
“We sincerely appreciate your partnership and are privileged to be working with all of you. We will continue to facilitate events like this so that we can build a stronger partnered force,” said U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Keith Whitcomb, the 40th Engineers battalion command sergeant major.
German army Master Sgt. Oliver Jonas, a Leopard, Germany native, now a platoon leader with 3rd Brigade, German Operational Mentoring Liaison Team based at Camp Spann, said after long hours at the range and mutual conversations about Germany, beer and family, the experience enhanced cohesion between the two forces.
“We would see the same faces in the gym and [dining facility] on the base, but only had brief interactions. Now we can really stop and continue the conversations that we started at the range,” Jonas said.
Hoover said German soldiers will have to recertify on the U.S. Army weapon systems in 12 months but, “we will have just enough ammunition to go around anytime our German brothers want to fire in the future.”
| Date Taken: |
06.15.2011 |
| Date Posted: |
06.18.2011 00:56 |
| Story ID: |
72300 |
| Location: |
CAMP MIKE SPANN, AF |
| Web Views: |
254 |
| Downloads: |
1 |
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This work, German Riflemen Become Brothers-in-Arms with Ram Soldiers, by SPC Jazz Burney, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
