Road to Anakonda: Raider Brigade builds combat power in preparation for Anakonda 16

(Grafenwoehr, Germany) - Soldiers from 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division started drawing tanks and Bradleys from the European Activity Set at sites in Germany, Romania and Bulgaria April 4-8 as the brigade prepares for Exercise Anakonda 16.

Anakonda 16 is a Polish national exercise taking place throughout Poland from June 7-17. The exercise will involve more than 25,000 participants from 24 nations, supporting assurance and deterrence measures by demonstrating Allied defense capabilities to deploy, mass and sustain combat power.‬

The brigade will be shooting gunnery in Germany, Romania, Bulgaria and Poland over the next two months to prepare for Anakonda.

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Steven Peck, the executive officer for Company C, 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, said they will be focusing on maintenance and gunnery to make sure their crews and equipment are ready for the exercise.

"As a heavy [armored] brigade, we'll continue to push working maintenance on our equipment while we prepare for gunnery operations and qualify as crews, sections, and platoons on our gunnery tables," said Peck, a native of Bel Air, Maryland.

For Spc. Anthony Calderon, an armor crewman with Co. C, 1st Bn., 64th Armd. Rgmt. from Hanley Falls, Minnesota, this will be the first time he will shoot a tank gunnery as a tank gunner, which he says will help develop him as a leader.

"I have been in five or six gunneries at Fort Stewart, but never as a gunner," said Calderon. "[Gunnery] will teach me a lot about accountability of the tank's tools, things I don't know about in the range tower, and scoring for the different tables."

Though the Soldiers are anxiously waiting to start sending rounds downrange, the biggest motivation for them is getting to Poland afterwards to train with the multinationals.

"We are excited to get to Poland once gunnery concludes in Grafenwoehr [Germany]," said Peck. "We are looking forward to training with the Polish brigade in that multinational exercise, building interoperability, building relationships and being able to train and fight with our multinational allies and partners."