Task Force Carentan Mentors 95th Air Assault Brigade During Battalion FTX

2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs
Story by 1st Lt. William Trout

Date: 07.09.2019
Posted: 07.09.2019 08:18
News ID: 330594
95th Air Assault Brigade Field Training Exercise

YAVORIV, Ukraine – Leaders of Task Force Carentan, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) mentored Ukrainian observer and controllers during battalion-level field training exercises at the Combat Training Center - Yavoriv, July 3-5.

Task Force Carentan is deployed in support of the Joint Multinational Training Group – Ukraine, an ongoing partnership with the Armed Forces of Ukraine to mentor Ukrainian observer and controllers at the Combat Training Center - Yavoriv.

The 95th Air Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is in its fifth week of training. Battalion-level training concluded with a three-day culminating field training exercise.

The rare presence of air assault and airborne units from multiple countries has allowed for a valuable exchange of knowledge and lessons learned. Leaders from the 95th Air Assault Brigade incorporated NATO-interoperable practices established during a multinational scenario demonstration of air assault operations conducted earlier in the rotation.

The training event culminated in a series of air assault operations, during which Ukrainian Soldiers utilized Mil Mi-8 helicopters to rapidly deliver combat power to key points of their objectives.

Maj. Nathan Barlow, battalion training group senior mentor, attested to the value of shared experience in conducting air assault operations.

“The employment of Ukrainian aircraft enhanced the intensity of the training for the 95th Air Assault Brigade’s battalion-level exercise,” commented Barlow. “For the past several weeks, all of our multinational partners have shared air assault experiences in combat and training.

“Today we finally got to see what a Ukrainian air assault looks like in action.”

American mentors were joined by multinational partners from Canada, Denmark, Lithuania, Poland and the United Kingdom.

As the 95th Air Assault Brigade transitions to brigade-level training, Task Force Carentan continues to mentor the Armed Forces of Ukraine as they build combat training center capabilities.