Schweinfurt flexes combat capability muscle with NATO exercise
Related Topics (5)
More related topics
SCHWEINFURT, Germany (Sept. 21, 2012) -- Despite its announced closure earlier this year, the U.S. Army garrison here still has something to prove: Pitted between closing and remaining operational, it can also host a large-scale NATO exercise in its own backyard.
Adjacent the four Chinook helicopters, six Apache helicopters and three CH-53 cargo-carrying helicopters, about 1,200 Dutch, German and Danish troops set up camp along the airfield on Conn Barracks earlier this month to participate in it what's been dubbed Peregrine Sword -- a NATO exercise that will test the combat readiness of the 11th Air Maneuver Brigade within the Dutch armed forces, according to a spokesman with the Royal Netherlands Air Force.
Peregrine Sword is part of a larger computer-generated exercise headed by the 1st German Netherlands Corps, said Lt. Col. Pier Schipmolder, commander of the 11th Air Maneuver Brigade, whose brigade is headquartered out of Gilze-Rijen Air Base in the southern part of the Netherlands. In total, more than 6,000 troops and civilian staff members have taken part in an exercise spread over areas in Wildflecken, Hammelburg and Schwarzenborn.
All neighboring brigades are computer-generated, except for the 11th Air Maneuver Brigade, which for the past several weeks has run through the whole gamut of exercises to include raids, medical evacuations and infantry delivery.
"We go through the entire chain of events in all our exercises, which is not something we do often," Schipmolder said.
That USAG Schweinfurt has played host to the NATO military exercise is no indication that the garrison will become an enduring base, said Lt. Col. Michael Runey, Schweinfurt garrison commander, at an all-hands meeting last month.
Planning for Peregrine Sword began two years ago, well before the announcement to close the garrison down by October 2014.
No U.S. Army units have participated in the NATO exercise, which is scheduled to end Sept. 28, but staff here have been playing an active role to support the exercise both operationally and logistically.
Particularly useful have been garrison staff and their know-how to operate an installation with the convenient measures in place to focus on the mission, such as top-notch fueling stations and established environmental controls.
"The U.S. has been very helpful in getting us set up here," said Schipmolder. "They're taking good care of us."
Find more articles tagged with:
- partnership
- Netherlands
- Germany
- exercise
- USAREUR
- Royal Netherlands Air Force
- German/Netherlands Corps
- NATO
- Helicopter
- multinational
- CH-47 Chinook
- U.S. Army in Europe
-
Despite the cold: U.S. military partnerships key to Arctic crisis response
The scenario used during SAREX 2012— a multinational exercise held recently in Greenland’s eastern sea – tested military and civilian capabilities for search and rescue missions above the Arctic Circle. Meanwhile, during exercise Northern Eagle, a U.S. Navy destroyer joined Russian and Norwegian vessels in the Barents Seas to prepare for similar rescues, plus anti-piracy operations and joint air defense.Find more articles tagged with:
-
Civic leaders receive preview of Baumholder's future
Leaders of the U.S. Army Garrison Baumholder, the 170th Infantry Brigade Combat Team and local civic leaders came together for a garrison hosted civic leaders working luncheon recently in the Rheinlander Community Club to discuss issues affecting the military and civilian communities.Find more articles tagged with:
-
This Week in EUCOM History: Sept. 30-Oct. 6, 1990
Less than one year after the destruction of the Berlin Wall, East and West Germany come together on what is known as "Unity Day."Find more articles tagged with:
-
USACE forward engineers train with Italians
A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Forward Engineering Support Team-Advance (FEST-A) conducted training and remote engineering missions in partnership with Italian Army Reconnaissance Engineers here September 9-21, 2012.Find more articles tagged with:
-
EIAMDC officially opens
The Warrior Preparation Center opened the European Integrated Air and Missile Defense Center with a ribbon cutting ceremony here Sept. 26.Find more articles tagged with:
-
EUCOM senior enlisted seminar hits its mark
ISES, a weeklong U.S. European Command event held at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, concluded on Sept. 13.Find more articles tagged with:
-
Exercise Jackal Stone 2012 leaders, participants honor fallen SF comrade
Military members and civilians from the U.S. and Croatia honored the late Master Sgt. Ivica Jerak, a member of U.S. Army Special Operations Command, with a small memorial service held in his native town of Debeljak, Croatia, Sept. 22, 2012.Find more articles tagged with:
-
Ceremony ends 18th Combined Endeavor
On Sept. 20, a closing ceremony at the Joint Military Training Command on U.S. Army Garrison Grafenwoehr, Germany, ended the 18th year of the world’s largest military communications exercise, Combined Endeavor 2012.Find more articles tagged with:
-
173rd Airborne Brigade, Italian carabinieri share training, experiences
Noncommissioned officers from the rear detachment of U.S. Army Europe's 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team shared deployment experiences and lessons learned with Italian military law enforcement officers during cultural awareness and information operations training here, Sept. 11.Find more articles tagged with:
-
Kansas National Guard partners with HDTC for Humanitarian Demining in Armenia
Four soldiers from the Kansas National Guard are working with a civilian representative from the U.S. Humanitarian Demining Training Center to teach international Humanitarian Mine Action standards to members of the Engineering Companies of the Armenian Peacekeeping Brigades Sept. 18-28.Find more articles tagged with:
Comments: 0