International Exercise Saber Junction 2014 which was held at the U.S. Army in Europe's Joint Multinational Readiness Centre in Hohenfels, Germany, concluded on September 10. For three weeks units of the Lithuanian Land Force, the staff of the Mechanised Infantry Brigade (MIB) Iron Wolf and the headquarters company of the Lithuanian Grand Duchess Birutė Uhlan Battalion, were training to conduct broad-spectrum military operations alongside NATO allies. The exercise involved roughly 6 thousand soldiers from 16 countries; Lithuania was represented by 250 troops.
The staff of the Iron Wolf Brigade was in command of an international brigade formed for exercise purposes by U.S., Czech and Slovenian battalions. The Grand Lithuanian Duchess Birutė Uhlan Company attended the exercise incorporated in a U.S. cavalry regiment while one of the battalion's platoons played the role of an enemy.
"This was unique exercise that has trained us act side by side with NATO allies and to lead an international brigade. Close cooperation and professionalism of soldiers, excellent teamwork, high quality planning and timely completion of tasks allowed us to reach what we have set for ourselves - to implement the plan the international brigade's operation," Commander MIB Iron Brigade Colonel Raimundas Vaikšnoras said.
According to R. Vaikšnoras, the exercise had presented a number of challenges as it had been held in a realistic environment reflecting real a situation amidst an armed conflict where units had to find the best solutions for mollifying the effects of a military intervention on civilian environment. "In order to reach our objective we had to cooperate intensely and constantly coordinate our actions with representatives of an alleged government, to take part in meetings with representatives of local municipalities, governmental organisations and NGOs, and media," Command MIB Iron Wolf said about the concluded exercise. He also added that another, nearly the most serious challenge came from different experience and procedures of the participating countries, and interoperability as the brigade-sized unit was formed by more than 10 countries.
According to the operational plan developed by the Lithuania-led international brigade troops were practicing offensive, defensive and stabilisation operations. The staff and subunits of the MIB Iron Wolf were improving command and control procedures, coordination of actions, tactical decision-making, planning and completion of combat tasks, and other assignments, at the exercise.
The multinationally Exercise Saber Strike 2014 comprised of two main phases. The first phase on August 24-30 covered operational planning, training to complete separate tactical tasks, and combat preparations. At the active phase which ran till September 10 the Iron Wolf Brigade's staff was conducting a non-stop 24 hours-a-day control of battalions at real time on real terrain with real units deployed on the ground.
The annual exercise Saber Junction in Germany held by the Joint Multinational Readiness Centre, U.S. Army Europe (USAREUR), involves brigade-level staff training and tactical field exercise. The exercise aims at training interoperability in NATO units, coordination of actions, and readiness to complete defensive, offensive, and stabilisation operations. The exercise involves roughly 6 thousand soldiers from 15 countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Italy, the United States, Canada, Croatia, Latvia, Poland, Lithuania, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Sweden.
POC - Assistant to the MIB Iron Wolf Commander Captain Ainaras Jonaitis. Mobile phone no. 00370 614 35 693; email: ainaras.jonaitis@gmail.com
Photo credit: SSG Edikas Ponomariovas
