CAMP VRELO, Kosovo (Nov. 28, 2014) -- Loud sounds of batons beating against thick plastic shields rang out as Soldiers shouted commands in unison, all while pushing the screaming rioters forward.
The Kosovo Police and European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, or EULEX, struggle to hold back the unruly crowd. Kosovo Force is called in for backup.
The three-day training exercise brings nations together to improve crowd riot control capabilities. Soldiers from around the globe united for Exercise Silver Sabre to develop coordination efforts with multinational security elements in a simulated hostile environment, at Camp Vrelo, Kosovo, Nov. 20.
U.S. paratroopers with the 1st Squadron (Airborne), 40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, arrived by helicopter and rushed toward the scene with their shields and batons by their side.
Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Coyle, a platoon sergeant with Chaos Troop, 1-40th Cavalry, led his Soldiers in the crowd riot control tasks at Silver Sabre.
"I think my guys did a phenomenal job," said Coyle. "We relieved EULEX and dispersed the crowd, then reacted to fire phobia."
Coyle and his troop were certified in crowd riot control tactics at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, in October.
"The training we did in Germany was 10 times harder than what they faced here [Silver Sabre], but the training should always be harder than the test," said Coyle.
Even though U.S. Soldiers are trained and ready to be called into action in an event of a riot, they are the third on the list to respond.
"If there is a riot here in Kosovo and we are called in, [because the situation has] escalated significantly," said Coyle. "By putting U.S. troops on the ground and having our presence here, will let the people know it is time to disperse and we can help resolve the issue."
"This type of training is important because that's our mission here," said Coyle. "It gives the Soldiers confidence in the training they've been receiving. I think everyone did phenomenal out here. The training has paid off."
Each nation trains up for Silver Saber by having smaller troop elements practice proper techniques, before bringing it all together at the big event.
Spc. Michael Sesso, a paratrooper with Chaos Troop, 1-40th Cavalry, was a part of the ballistic non-lethal team during Silver Sabre, and believes his team pulled off their mission without a hitch.
"We reacted fast and everything fell into place," said Sesso. "We established our line and pulled security, and everyone was communicating with each other."
Many nations came together and successfully completed the Silver Sabre exercise as a team, despite language differences.
"It was an awesome experience working side-by-side with the foreign nations," said Sesso. "I thought it would be difficult with the language barrier, but when we came together it just all worked. The mission is the same no matter what the language is, and we all knew what our mission was today."
One of the biggest benefits of Silver Sabre was putting our training to the test, said Sesso. The Soldiers will have another opportunity to participate in Silver Saber next April.
"We train to improve each time," said Sesso. "We did great but we can always do better. I believe by the end of the [Kosovo Forces] deployment, we will be extremely well-versed in the [crowd riot control] operations."
Social Sharing