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BALTIC SEA – Marines from four NATO and partner nations come
together during BALTOPS from June 7-17, 2015. U.K. Royal
Marine Commandos, Finnish Coastal Jaegers, Swedish and U.S.
Marines integrate to practice expeditionary, ship-to-shore
assaults to enhance their capability to work together as a
combined amphibious force.
“The U.K. [Commandos] and
[United States Marine Corps] work together often, so we have
similar procedures. Working with the USMC, Finnish and
Swedish Marines is great because it gives a lot of depth to
what we normally do,” said British Capt. Christopher Viggars, U.K.
Royal Commandos. “We're adding that aspect into our
training, which only helps us down the line if we did have
to do operations with people who work with completely
different kit (equipment), people we don't operate with very
often, and possible language barriers."
Amphibious
drills give each nation's Marines the opportunity to improve
their expeditionary warfare skills together as a NATO
Response Force.
“As a NATO force, we've got
multinational troops, people speaking different languages,
people using different equipment and landing crafts; if we
went straight into an operation without practicing, it
wouldn't be very well organized,” said Viggars.
U.S. Marines with 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment patrol a beach off the shores of Sweden during BALTOPS 2015, June 9. In its 43rd iteration, BALTOPS is a multinational exercise designed to enhance the operational familiarity of NATO allied and partner nations and demonstrate their collective capability to defend the Baltic region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Immanuel Johnson) |
BALTOPS is NATO's multinational maritime exercise in its
43rd iteration. Along with the multinational amphibious
force are 13 additional Allies and partners that come
together in the Baltics to improve their capabilities to
collectively respond to a range of real-world situations.
“Although over the last decade or so we've been working
on land operations in Iraq or Afghanistan, we are the only
forces that operate from shipping to land; nobody else can
do that,” said Viggars. “We are an amphibious infantry and
that's in itself is a specialization that allows us to do
what we do and makes Marines such an asset to have because
we have both the land element and the ability to work from
shipping-to-shore.”
The relationships and improved
capabilities built during the exercise allow the force to
operate throughout the region, enhancing and refining a
responsive force to defend the Baltics if needed.
“The enemy doesn't just operate in one region; there are
threats all over the world,” said Lance Cpl. Joseph M.
Hunsaker, machine gun section leader, 1st Battalion, 6th
Marine Regiment.
“You never know what the opposition
will throw at you; amphibious assault is bringing the fight
to their doorstep and if the beach is the only way we can
get into their battlespace, then we can do that,” said
Hunsaker.
BALTOPS includes approximately 5,600
ground, maritime and air forces from Belgium, Denmark,
Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Georgia, Latvia,
Lithuania, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Turkey,
United States and the United Kingdom.
“If you look
back in history, it's not just the U.S. versus anyone else;
we always have our Allies, who are on the same page and
believes in the same fight, said Hunsaker. “Marines around
the world hold themselves to a certain standard; these guys
train all the time and are good at what they do and when we
come out here it just flows.”
The total force will
operate in Poland, Sweden, Germany, and throughout the
Baltic Sea to demonstrate air defense, maritime
interdiction, and anti-subsurface warfare along with the
amphibious operations.
“It's good to come out here
and work together and not just talk about it, to see how we
train and, if we are called into a situation, know how to
operate together. We're training for when the world needs a
911 force to call on.”
More photos available below
By U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Tatum Vayavananda
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2015
The U.S. Marines
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