YAVORIV, Ukraine -- Paratroopers have a long and storied history, from their experimental beginnings to the famous Band of Brothers of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, during World War II, to the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team’s “Sky Soldiers” of Vietnam and Iraq. If there is anything that history has shown it’s that wherever there is conflict, there are paratroopers.
When they’re not fighting or falling through the sky, they’re training and Rapid Trident 2011 is no exception. Paratroopers from 13 different nations gathered at the International Peacekeeping and Security Center here for the U.S. Army Europe-led exercise featuring multinational airborne operations, situational training exercise lanes and a final field training exercise, designed to promote regional stability and interoperability between nations from July 25 toAugust 5.
“Although everyone understands that this exercise’s purpose is tied to European regional security and stability, our main take-away from this exercise is quite simply that relationships matter,” said Lt. Col. Michael Larsen, commander of 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd ABCT. “We can’t have strong partnerships without first establishing personal relationships.”
“Rapid Trident 2011 is a high-payoff exercise and it is very rare to get such an opportunity like this,” he added.
Making airborne operations a part of Rapid Trident 2011 meant that the Soldiers attending would have to be airborne-qualified and though they come from 13 different countries, jumping from an aircraft is one thing they all have in common.
“I’ve learned there’s not much difference between an American paratrooper, a British paratrooper, a Canadian paratrooper, or Ukrainian or Serbian paratrooper, the mentality seems to be the same,” said Staff Sgt. Scott Frazier, of Destined Company, 2nd Bn., 503rd Infantry Regiment, and a native of Atlanta.
The paratroopers here have built relationships through language and cultural barriers and learned about many cultures other than their own. Whether by coincidence or design, bringing the worlds paratroopers together has brought about even greater results.
“It’s almost like the airborne operations are the platform for this whole thing,” he said. “Using that as a platform for exercise Rapid Trident 2011with all these like-minded individuals in one place is just making everything better.”
The multinational jump also allowed for foreign jumpmasters to work the door and get the paratroopers out of the aircraft safely.
“It’s really cool having someone else other than an American up there because you don’t know if you should trust them but then you see that they know what they’re doing, and it’s good to go,” said Pfc. Jack Nesmith of Battle Co., and a native of Atlanta.
“Essentially you’re putting your life into somebody else’s hands when you jump,” said Frazier, who worked as a jumpmaster next to his Polish counterpart. “Those are awesome experiences when you put guys out of the aircraft together, so you’re developing a bond there, just like in a fire fight or any of the team building experiences that our respective armies put you through.”
During the exercise, American paratroopers were able to earn two sets, Ukrainian and Polish.
Nesmith, Pfc. Vincent Phillips of Portage, Ind., and Pfc. Jeffrey Rogers, a native of Bridgeport, Texas, all from Battle Company, were three paratroopers whose first and second jumps after graduating airborne school, were here in Ukraine.
“It’s really nice to get foreign wings, not a lot of people can say they have Ukrainian or Polish jump wings,” Phillips said. “They mean more to me from having all those nations right there and no one speaks the same language yet you’re still trying to talk to each other and help each other out.”
Though two sets of foreign jump wings may not sound impressive to some, earning two sets during this two-week exercise is well out of the ordinary.
“I had to wait almost 8 years to get my first set,” said Frazier, who has been airborne-qualified for 12 years. “I didn’t get my first set until I was a staff sergeant as a black hat in airborne school, I only hope that the junior soldiers that are here in Battle Company are wrapping their heads around this and realize that this is huge.”
Ultimately, the airborne operations may have started as simply a part of a larger exercise, but as Rapid Trident 2011 comes to a close, their value is becoming clear. The paratroopers from 13 nations found the one thing they have in common and used it as a fuel for their training fire and everyone involved is seeing the payoff.
“It’s a great thing that we got to come together because we share the same things as an airborne unit, we are brothers,” said Spc. Armando Rodriguez, of Battle Co., 2nd Bn., 503rd Infantry Regiment, and a native of Webster, Fla. “It doesn’t matter who you are, it doesn’t matter what continent you’re from, all that matters is you jumping out of that plane helping your buddy to the left and right of you and when you hit the ground that’s all you have.”
“I think that if the purpose of this is international peace or bringing nations together and sharing words stories over a machine gun or running off the drop zone, it’s probably one of the better ideas I’ve seen,” Frazier said. “I don’t think you could ask for a better experience.”
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