More than 60 soldiers of the 28th Infantry Division are in Lithuania to continue to partner with the Baltic nation and other regional allies. The Pennsylvania Army National Guard soldiers are spending their annual training period participating in Exercise Saber Knight 2015, a preplanned, reoccurring exercise involving approximately 6,000 personnel from 12 countries.
The command post exercise is driven by a computer-based scenario run from the Nemencine training area. The scenario is played out in various related training events at locations throughout Lithuania, Latvia and Poland.
“The goal of this overseas training is for our Soldiers to learn to interoperate with their counterparts from allied nations. It builds on our two decade’s long relationship with Lithuania and improves our skills working as a part of a multinational force,” said Brig. Gen. George Schwartz, exercise deputy director and deputy commander of the Danish division leading the event.
“This year’s exercise adds to the success and lessons learned from previous trainings here,” Schwartz said. “Pennsylvania has been a partner in the Saber Strike exercises since their beginning.”
The 28th’s soldiers arrived in Lithuania May 31-June 1 for the two–week exercise. One of the first tasks for the soldiers is familiarization training with the computer systems to be used in the event. They will then use that communication system to direct forces engaged in the fictitious scenario.
The partnership between Pennsylvania and Lithuania was established in 1993. Since then, more than 500 exchanges and trainings have been conducted covering topics such as noncommissioned officer professional development, defense support to civil authorities and recruitment.
Saber Knight is part of the ongoing U.S. Army Europe’s Saber Strike exercise program. Nations participating in this year’s training include: Lithuania, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Germany, Portugal, United Kingdom, France, Poland and Norway.