HOHENFELS, Germany (23 Aug, 2015) -- Army Rangers represent the pinnacle of professional infantry operations, no matter what country they come from. With this in mind, Ranger units from Germany, Italy and the United States recently arrived in Germany to train together as part of exercise Swift Response.
For the first time since 2001, these special operators will have a chance to conduct training in Europe, taking place in both Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels Training Areas.
Representing the U.S. contingent is the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, who will "execute a number of helicopter assault force raids, range training, and an interoperability airborne operation with U.S. Army conventional forces as well as our Allied partners" said Tracy Baily, a spokesperson for the Rangers.
These operations will take place in Hohenfels, requiring them to fly between the Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels to conduct quick raids on enemy air defenses, and then extract back to Grafenwoehr.
Over the following days, Rangers form the other Allied countries will conduct similar missions at Hohenfels, each bringing their own warfighting methodology to the fight, but also demonstrating a long history of interoperability between these special operators.
When asked why the Rangers have returned to Europe for this exercise, Baily said Swift Response is valuable for the Rangers because "these engagements expand levels of cooperation and enhance mutual capabilities and promote long-term regional stability and interoperability between U.S. forces and Allied nations."
In the scenario, once all the Rangers successfully destroy their targets, a broader coalition of airborne forces from across Europe will then jump into Hohenfels to evacuate coalition personnel and help secure the legitimacy of the beleaguered Atropian government.
Swift Response is a multinational training exercise built around the largest Airborne Combined Joint Forcible Entry operation in Europe since the end of the Cold War. The exercise includes more than 4,800 participants from 11 Allied nations. Swift Response 15 will exercise and evaluate a multinational Brigade Task Force on the execution of strategic outload in the U.S. European Command area of operations using Intermediate Staging Bases (ISBs), Airborne Joint Forcible Entry and follow-on training missions. Swift Response 15 provides the opportunity to practice the integration of Allied high-readiness forces, and allows them to train together as a cohesive team.
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