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ADAZI MILITARY BASE, Latvia — For many Soldiers, the Europe-wide
Operation Atlantic Resolve may appear to be merely a composition of
combined training and exercises held between the U.S. and NATO
allies.
However, Soldiers from the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization participate in these combined training and exercises
honing their multinational partnership capability and security
cooperation in pursuit of enhancing the alliance's overall
interoperability.
But, what does this "interoperability" mean
for Europe? More specifically, its Eastern region?
The
placement of NATO assets in strategically and geographically
relevant locations demonstrates to the region that NATO will uphold
the statutes set in Article Five of the Washington Treaty — an
attack on one is an attack on all.
This demonstration is one
that the U.S. has been vigilantly spearheading.
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Armor Crewman Staff Sgt. Herman Johnson from C Co., 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division out of Fort Stewart, Ga., briefs soldiers from the Estonian Defense Forces' Kuperjanov Infantry Battalion on the capabilities of the M1A2 Abrams Battle Tank during Operation Siil held in Johvi, Estonia, May 10,
2015. Johnson, a Miami native, along with other Soldiers from 3rd Infantry Division and A Troop, 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade out of Grafenw�hr, Germany, are currently deployed throughout Europe as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, an ongoing, multinational partnership focused on joint training and security cooperation between the U.S. and NATO allies. (Photo by U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Brooks Fletcher, 16th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)
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“Being aligned under NATO is a message in itself,” said
1st Sgt. James Bradshaw, Attack Company, 1st Battalion,
503rd Airborne Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade.
“It is a message that all 28 member states of NATO are
willing to defended one another.”
For Bradshaw and
Attack Company, who are training alongside the Latvian Land
Forces on Adazi Military Base in Latvia, working closely
with NATO forces makes for a stronger and better integrated
force.
“While everyone's primary goal is to increase
their own proficiency, becoming a truly interwoven force is
the end goal,” said Bradshaw, a 14-year combat veteran and
Charleston, South Carolina, native. “Considering some of the
common issues that you run into when working with militaries
form different nations, I'm impressed with how well all of
the NATO nations are able to work together.”
The "Sky
Soldiers" of 173rd Airborne Brigade out of Vicenza, Italy,
was the first unit to deploy and jump into Poland and the
Baltic States in support of OAR following the Ukrainian
Revolution in 2014 and have several of its companies located
throughout Europe.
For the Sky Soldiers and other
Soldiers that previously deployed in support of OAR, which
includes those from the 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry
Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry
Division out of Fort Stewart, Georgia, and the 1st Squadron,
91st Cavalry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade out of
Grafenw�hr, the value is understanding that their
partnership with NATO allies is part of something larger.
“The training and exercises within the OAR area of
operations are not only synchronized with assurance measures
and activities on land, but those going on at sea and in the
sky,” said British Army Col. Gordon Falconer, Allied Land
Forces Command assistant chief of staff for operations.
“While the aim of the units here is to make sure their own
professional competence is spread among those they train
with, the overall goal is to create the best assurance
effect without becoming overly provocative”
Falconer
concluded that this balance of provocation and, ultimately,
interoperability is key to the future of the alliance and
the region; especially considering its current situation
with Russia.
By U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Brooks Fletcher
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2015
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