GRAFENWOEHR, Germany -- Soldiers are taking Abrams tanks and other mechanized vehicles and equipment to get ready for a large-scale exercise aimed at strengthening NATO's response force.
Soldiers assigned to 3rd Combined Arms Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment out of Fort Stewart, Georgia, conducted an equipment draw of the U. S. Army's European Activity Set April 21-22, at the Grafenwoehr Training Area for their upcoming participation in Combined Resolve IV.
The 3-69 AR falls under the leadership of the 3rd Infantry Division's 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team.
The European Activity Set, or EAS, is a combined-arms set of tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and military equipment pre-positioned in Europe to outfit the U.S. Army Regionally Aligned Forces when they rotate into theater for training or contingency operations.
The EAS continues to grow to provide an Armored Brigade Combat Team-sized group of vehicles. In addition to the storage of EAS vehicles in Grafenwoehr, U.S. Army Europe will use Coleman Barracks in Manheim to store that equipment.
Combined Resolve IV is a Joint Multinational Training Command, USAREUR-directed exercise held from May - June, 2015 at the Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels Training Areas in southeastern Germany. The overall objective is to exercise the Regionally Aligned Force concept.
"During this EAS drawing process, the EAS staff will layout the equipment requested by 3-69 and brief them on what is to happen next," said James Sharp, the maintenance quality assurance manager for EAS. "The Soldiers will check everything from the communication system to the BII (Basic Issue Items) against an inventory checklist to make sure they have everything they need to complete their mission."
Brigades participating in Combined Resolve series of exercises are fashioned from the U.S. Army's Regionally Aligned Forces concept -- Gen. Raymon Odierno, the Army's Chief of Staff's strategy geared toward building cooperation, trust and confidence between the U.S. and regions of the world.
Elements of a U.S. Army brigade rotate here twice a year to participate in training. That brigade, which is assigned to European Command, is the Army's contribution to the NATO Response Force. The last brigade to do so was the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division in November 2014 as part of Combined Resolve III.
During Combined Resolve IV, the 3rd Infantry Division's 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team will serve as the U.S. contingent of the NATO Response Force
3-69 AR Soldiers will next conduct a road test to ensure mission capability prior to taking control of the equipment.
"Our battalion commander made it very clear that having a solid maintenance program is critically important so that we maintain the fleet during our training and return a fleet that is ready to fight as soon as we're done with it," said Capt. Johnathan Batt, the commander of Bravo Company.
Capt. Batt said the expectations of the Soldiers during this training are to treat this like they are getting ready for combat.
Combined Resolve IV will include about 4,700 participants from 13 nations. Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy, Latvia, Moldova, Montenegro, Slovenia, Romania, Serbia and the U.S. will all have units participating in the exercise.
Related Links:
Army Europe to retain Coleman Barracks as interim site for EAS storage
Combined Resolve IV to exercise Army's regionally aligned forces to Europe
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