Whether ground or air: More than land training at Saber Junction 15

Operational Checks — 1 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Sgt. Deanna Lucchesi, with the Military Intelligence Troop, Regimental Engineering Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, performs operational checks and services on an RQ-7B Shadow unmanned aerial vehicle April 16, 2015, at Joint Multinational Readiness Ce... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

2 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Spc. Edward Cosme, with the Military Intelligence Troop, Regimental Engineering Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, maneuvers a RQ-7B Shadow unmanned aerial vehicle toward a hangar April 16, 2015, at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels,... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

Secure Fuel Lines — 3 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Spc. Raymond Muthig and Staff Sgt. Tomas Rivera work to secure fuel lines as Spc. Edward Bonner (center) approaches April 16, 2015, at Joint Multinational Readiness Center, Hohenfels, Germany. The 12th Cavalry Regiment Soldiers are preparing to fuel ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

Ensure Connections — 4 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Spc. Mario Hall motions to a fellow Soldier further down the fuel line as Spc. Raymond Muthig ensures the fuel hose connections are secure April 16, 2015, at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany. The 12th Cavalry Regiment So... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

Y Pattern — 5 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Staff Sgt. Tomas Rivera and Spc. Raymond Muthig connect 100-foot fuel lines in a Y pattern in anticipation of fueling two AH-64 Apache helicopters from a large fuel bladder inside of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter April 16, 2015, at the Joint Multination... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

Brace the Stake — 6 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Spc. Jarid Cobb braces a stake as Spc. Mario Hall pounds it into the ground April 16, 2015, at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany. The 12th Cavalry Regiment Soldiers are preparing to do a jump site fueling during Saber Jun... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

HOHENFELS, Germany -- Moments after a CH-47 Chinook helicopter lands in a field here, Soldiers race from the lowered loading ramp with hoses, spill kits and fuel nozzles. As one of the many training exercises for Saber Junction 15, they're scrambling to prepare a refueling jump site for two AH-64 Apache helicopters.

It takes "a lot of preparation and planning, and then it's game time, pack up, roll out and get ready," said Spc. Jarid Cobb, Distribution Platoon, Company E, 2059th Squadron, 12th Cavalry Regiment.

It's a chance to refine their skills to expedite potential real-world missions in the future.

"It enables us to have quick operations," Spc. Edward Bonner, also with the Distribution Platoon, said of the exercise. "So, we get on the ground, we set it up as fast as possible and as safe as possible, and then after we set it up we fuel the birds … and fly to the next grid coordinate to do the same thing. So, it just helps us to move fast, and set up the fuel and keep moving."

The multinational exercise takes place across the Joint Multinational Readiness Center's 40,000 acres. It's the far northwest corner where the Chinook landed April 16, carrying a Fat Cow bladder filled with 820 gallons of fuel.

In a mere 10 to 15 minutes, Soldiers ran a 100-foot fuel line from the bladder and then attached two more lines, forming a Y pattern leading toward two landing pads where the Apaches were expected to set down.

Not far away, near a short runway, 2nd Cavalry Regiment Soldiers also are training with aerial assets, but of a different kind.

2nd Cavalry Regiment Soldiers with Shadow Platoon, Military Intelligence Troop, Regimental Engineering Squadron are doing pre-operational checks on a RQ-7B Shadow unmanned aerial vehicle. The plane may be small, with a wingspan of a mere 20 feet, but it provides immeasurable value in a wartime situation.

Upon the request of commanders on the ground, the platoon deploys the Shadow to specific grid coordinates over the training area to scan for enemy activity as part of the force-on-force role-playing scenarios taking place. The commanders then know if oppositional forces are moving their direction, and they have a better feel for the battle space.

"It's basically giving the commander a snapshot of the battlefield," said Spc. Laronn Horton with the platoon.

It's an important asset to not just U.S. but Allied forces.

"We're going to be working with allied forces downrange, so we should practice before we find ourselves in combat," he said.

That theme -- whether on the ground or in the air -- continues to carry through Saber Junction as it heads into its third week.