Belgian Cpl. Kone Swine, a mechanic with the Belgian Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance Battalion, fishes a pulley out of the water as a U.S. soldier holds his feet during a vehicle recovery training exercise at Hohenfe...

Army Spc. Tyler Clark, a tracked mechanic with H Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Heavy Infantry Regiment, runs out the winch cable from a Belgian Pandur armored recovery vehicle at Hohenfels Training Area, Germany, on Aug. 31, 2016, as part of Combined R...

Belgian soldiers with the Belgian Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance Battalion winch an American HMMWV out of a thick mud pit during a multinational vehicle recovery exercise at Hohenfels Training Area, Germany, on Aug....

United States Army mechanic Spc. Tyler Clark, a mechanic with H company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Heavy Infantry Regiment, drives a Belgian Pandur into a mud pit during a vehicle recovery exercise at Hohenfels Training Area, Germany, on Aug. 31, 2016, as p...

Polish Cpl. Adam Niedzwiecki discusses how best to connect an American recovery vehicle to Polish military trucks during a vehicle recovery training lane at Hohenfels Training Area, Germany, on Aug. 31, 2016, as part of Combined Resolve VII. The Poli...

Soldiers from three allied nations met at Hohenfels Training Area, Germany, to train on vehicle recovery tactics on Aug. 31, 2016, as part of the ongoing multinational exercise Combined Resolve VII.

American, Belgian and Polish soldiers practiced recovering each other's vehicles, learning how best to match up gear from different militaries.

"You cannot stand alone as a small army," said Cpl. Geert Igo, a mechanic with Belgium's Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance Battalion. "You must learn to work with the others. That's what NATO is all about."

NATO forces use different pieces of equipment, Igo said. Training with partner nations allows each country to learn to better support one another.

"We're learning how to recover vehicles in different situations and other countries' vehicles in the case we might have to recover those vehicles one day," said Sgt. April Van, a soldier with Bravo Company, 3rd Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division.

The U.S. Army's 1st Bde. 3rd Inf. Div., is part of the Regionally Allocated Force in Europe. Multinational training is critical to the success of the RAF and as a security measure for NATO the NATO Allies.

This is the first time the Belgian Land Component, their country's primary land force, has taken part in a large exercise like Combined Resolve VII in approximately five months.

The Belgian soldiers were happy to take part, driving their Pandur armored recovery vehicle through the training area and recovering the most challenging vehicles such as a rolled U.S. Army mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle and an American HMMWV buried deep in mud.

"We were invited by the Americans here in the recovery zone to study each other's equipment," said Igo.

On another section of the training area, Polish truck drivers worked with American mechanics to decide how U.S. recovery assets could best help stranded or damaged Polish vehicles in the field.

The two militaries figured out a few ways for their vehicles to hook together safely, giving the U.S. the ability to help out their partners if called upon.

The training also allowed the U.S. Army to train some Soldiers who were new to the military.

"We have new soldiers with us, some just got out of AIT," Van said. "It was really good for them to get out here and get some experience, so they could see how it is done instead of us just saying how it is done."

Combined Resolve VII is a 7th Army Training Command, U.S. Army Europe-directed exercise taking place at the Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels Training Areas, Aug. 8 to Sept. 15, 2016. The exercise is designed to train the Army's regionally allocated forces to the U.S. European Command. Combined Resolve VII includes more than 3,500 participants from 16 NATO and European partner nations.