TRADOC commander visits Allied Spirit I in Hohenfels, Germany

By Capt. Christopher Bradley, Joint Multinational Readiness CenterJanuary 30, 2015

TRADOC commander visits Allied Spirit I in Hohenfels, Germany
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TRADOC commander visits Allied Spirit I in Hohenfels, Germany
2 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – British Army Lt. Col. Mark Ellwood MBE, commander of 1st Battalion, The Mercian Regiment, shakes hands with Gen. David Perkins, commander of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, during Exercise Allied Spirit at the Joint Multinational Readiness ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
TRADOC commander visits Allied Spirit I in Hohenfels, Germany
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TRADOC commander visits Allied Spirit I in Hohenfels, Germany
4 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – General David Perkins, commander of U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, speaks to Hungarian Defense Force soldiers of 62nd Infantry Battalion, 5th Infantry Brigade at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center during Exercise Allied Spirit in Hohe... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
TRADOC commander visits Allied Spirit I in Hohenfels, Germany
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TRADOC commander visits Allied Spirit I in Hohenfels, Germany
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HOHENFELS, Germany (Jan. 25, 2015) -- U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, or TRADOC, Commander Gen. David Perkins visited here to observe Exercise Allied Spirit I and share his vision on the Army's new operating concept, or OC, 'Win in a complex world,' Jan. 25.

Perkins visited with Soldiers from all five nations participating in the exercise, and discussed leader development, training and the challenges inherent in multinational interoperability.

During a visit to the 1st Mercian Battalion from the United Kingdom, Lt. Col. Mark Ellwood, battalion commander, stated that training exercises like Allied Spirit provide freedom for commanders to try new solutions to military problems, and work leader development at every level.

"This is 10 great days of training, superbly resourced, and incredibly well supported by the OCs," Ellwood said.

He went on to say how valuable the training has been for his unit.

More than 2,000 participants from Canada, Hungary, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States are participating in the exercise through Jan. 31.

Allied Spirit I is designed to provide multinational interoperability training at brigade and battalion levels to enhance U.S. and alliance effectiveness.

Perkins had the opportunity to elaborate on this idea and discuss the Army's new operating concept in a question and answer session with the staff and observer coach trainers of the Joint Multinational Readiness Center, which is headquartered at Hohenfels.

The TRADOC's job is to ask the really big questions, and the Army's operating concept provides a framework for us to answer those questions going into the future, Perkins said.

The Army and its sister services are responsible for "synchronizing and delivering national power" to "seize, retain and exploit the initiative and maintain relative advantage over all enemies," Perkins said.

Related Links:

STAND-TO!: USAREUR's Persistent Presence

STAND-TO!: The U.S. Army Operating Concept

U.S. Army Europe

Joint Multinational Readiness Center

Microsite: Allied Spirit I

Training and Doctrine Command