On June 15 training audience of Exercise Iron Wolf 2016 will commence defensive and offensive operations at Gaižiūnai Training Area, and territories of Jonava, Kaunas and Kėdainiai districts. The active phase of Iron Wolf 2016, i.e., field training exercise (FTX), will begin with an airborne assault carried out by soldiers with the 173rd Airborne Brigade (United States) and reconnaissance personnel of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, in total, roughly 400 allied troops. The 291st Infantry Battalion of the Bundeswehr will provide ground support, and B-52 strategic bomber of the U.S. Air Force will ensure air support during the operation. In the meanwhile, task force formed on the basis of the 1st Hussar Battalion, 2nd Brigade, Danish Division, will provide area defence.
According to the exercise scenario, the Danish task force (including a Lithuanian company) will be completing defensive tasks for 72 hours. Then the task force will assume the offensive while German troops will focus of defence. This phase will serve as the final assessment of readiness of the Danish task force for standby for the NATO Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) in 2017.
During the exercise the training audience will mainly operate at Gaižiūnai Training Area, but will also use some civilian territories.
Iron Wolf 2016, the part of the annual multinational Exercise Saber Strike held in Lithuania, is running in June in Rukla and Pabradė, two training areas of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. In total, over 5 thousand soldiers from 7 NATO allies are training at the same time in Lithuania this year.
More information about the exercise
POC - Captain Paulius Babilas, 00370 618 40469 , e-mail: paulius.babilas@mil.lt
Photos (courtesy of the 173rd Airborne Brigade): airborne assault during Exercise Anakonda 2016
