U.S., French military partner during Djibouti exercise

"This type of exercise promotes teamwork with our allies and challenges our Soldiers because of the language barrier and the different tactics, techniques and procedures (both forces employ)," said U.S. Army 1st Sgt. Brent Ludlow, 2nd Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment. "So this allows our Soldiers to learn from what our allies are doing and our allies to learn from us."

The exercise, hosted by the French 5th Marine Regiment, tested and trained the Soldiers on force protection, convoy operations and counter improvised explosive device tactics.

Beginning with a convoy to the rally point, the French and American Soldiers bonded in mutual discomfort enduring the hot, humid and bumpy ride together.

"One challenge is the climate," said French Capt. Thibaut Hardy, 5th MR executive officer. "It's hot and damp, and they're all in their full gear."

The bilateral training deepens the relationship between the old allies and maximizes the benefits of serving at the same location by enabling both nations to learn and experience each other's TTPs.

"It was very interesting and rich for us," Hardy said. "Most of our TTPs we use today stem from American procedures coined in Afghanistan or Iraq."

Each ally learned more than TTPs during the exercise as they struggled through language barriers while carrying out their duties.

To overcome some of the language barriers and establish camaraderie, U.S. Soldiers learned and adopted the French term "ça marche," which means 'it/that works,' as somewhat of a catchphrase for the exercise.

The phrase came in handy as they rotated platoon leaders, experiencing positions of leadership in the other nation's forces, all while dealing with lack of sleep and random ambushes from simulated opposing forces.

"Tactically speaking this is very difficult, so you have to be very disciplined," Hardy said. "But they overcame the difficulty."

"It was a challenge for me personally to not just jump into what we're trained to do and try to just step back, observe and learn from the French," said U.S. Army Sgt. Dare Crusade, 2nd Bn. 124th Infantry, a Seminole Battalion team leader.

The FTX is one of 60 engagements U.S. and French forces have held together since September, with more to follow, providing a unique opportunity to build teamwork amongst the allies.

"It's imperative that we know how our allies work, so in the event that we need to (fight together) we can operate as a more cohesive unit," Crusade said.

The struggles proved difficult, but they met all of the objectives and everyone emerged a more combat-ready Soldier -- together. And as everyone shuffled off to well-deserved rest, "ça marche" echoed across the parking lot.