Unexpected Twists Are Normal Business at SOCEUR

The Jackal Stone Special Operations Training Exercise is now officially finished with the successful completion of the closing ceremony Saturday afternoon, Sept. 26.  And as with all military operations (especially special operations in my experience), flexibility remained key.  You see, we set up for the ceremony on a concrete “parade field” area on Zemunik Air Base near Zadar, Croatia (beautiful area by the way).  Of course, we had already briefed the boss, we’d conducted a rehearsal, and we had set up all of the props – chairs, podium, speakers, etc.  Those scheduled to be given awards were seated and awaiting the beginning of the ceremony.   The plan was in place.

Flags representing the ten nations that participated in Jackal Stone 2009. (Photo by Army Master Sgt. Donald Sparks)

It was a typical late September cloudless day in central Croatia – sunny and about 85 degrees, which is great for the beach, but not so exciting if you have to sit on a concrete slab for a 30 minute ceremony.  I gathered that the assembling masses did not particularly care to hang out in the hot sun as I observed them wander up and stop short of the parade field, electing to wait in the cooler shade of the surrounding trees until the last possible moment.  Just as I announced that the ceremony would begin in five minutes, Maj Gen Kisner appeared out of nowhere (amazing how senior officers can appear out of thin air like that) and offered a “suggestion” to me.  He recommended that we move everything into the shade so that people would not have to bake in the sunlight.  In my experience, when a general officer makes a “suggestion” like that, I do my best to accommodate – it tends to make things go better. 

So, I made the announcement to flip everything 180 degrees into the shaded area.  Mind you, this is all occurring five minutes before “go” time.  Immediately, people charged out of the woodline, grabbed chairs, and placed them neatly into the shaded area opposite of the parade field.  The PA system and podium were uprooted and moved to their new location and all of the senior country representatives’ chairs were relocated to the shade.  This operation took exactly three minutes and we were ready to go on time as scheduled.  It was the right decision and I was truly impressed how the team members who had been working together in the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force (CJSOTF) for the past two weeks sprang into action to make the general’s “suggestion” a reality.  Even though I was impressed, I wasn’t surprised.  They had all been working day and night together, developing bonds of friendship over the past two weeks planning and then reacting to complex exercise scenarios.  They were used to the unexpected, and this twist was nothing for them. 

Soldiers who participated in Jackal Stone 2009 attend the closing ceremony. (Photo by Army Master Sgt. Donald Sparks)

The ceremony proceeded quickly and flawlessly.  Maj Gen Kisner remarked that the exercise had been a true success and that it had attained the goal of increasing our interoperability.  The CJSOTF had conducted a total of 17 combat operations throughout the country during the two weeks on the ground, to include four special reconnaissance, six direct action, three hostage rescue, two maritime interdiction and two personnel recovery operations – almost all of them during periods of darkness.  We had incredible support from the 160^th Special Operations Aviation Regiment’s two MH-47s as well as Croatia’s two Mi-171 helicopters and the 352^nd Special Operations Group’s MC-130P Combat Shadows.  In addition, the USS Higgins as well as U.S. and coalition rigid-hulled inflatable boats (RHIBs) were assisting with all of our maritime training conducted near Split, Croatia. 

It will be tough to replicate an experience like this, but we will start planning this upcoming month for Jackal Stone 10.  With the relationships and professional interoperability gained during this exercise, we’ll all be ready for the unexpected whenever or wherever it occurs.  That’s just what we do in SOCEUR.

MAJ Jim Gregory
SOCEUR PAO