YAVORIV, Ukraine (May 5, 2015) -- Paratroopers, from the U.S. Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade, conducted training with soldiers from the Ukrainian national guard's 3029th Regiment here on the Harris RF 7800V radio system as part of Operation Fearless Guardian, May 4.
Fearless Guardian is the name for the Congress-approved, Departments of State and Defense initiative under the Global Security Contingency Fund-Ukraine, to train and equip the newly-formed Ukrainian national guard. The mission and the program of instruction come at the request of the Ukrainian government.
Two Soldiers from the U.S. Army's Security Assistance Training Management Organization, or SATMO, on Fort Bragg, North Carolina, acted as subject-matter experts and led the training on the radios.
"We trained several [Ukrainian] soldiers to be trainers to help overcome the language barrier," said Master Sgt. Anthony R. Jennings, a signal support adviser assigned to SATMO. "We then had those soldiers train several paratroopers unfamiliar with the Harris system to ensure the soldiers' proficiency."
Jennings also trained several paratroopers to act as instructors.
During the class, instructors gave soldiers, from the 3029th Regiment, the basic functions of the radio system and the layout of its key components.
"We showed them what each part of the radio does followed by instructions on assembly and disassembly," said Sgt. Anthony Wilson, an instructor with the 173rd Airborne Brigade. "We also covered some of the radio's capabilities such as signal range, encryption capabilities and resistance to water."
Ukrainian national guard soldiers were happy to receive the training.
"We have been using civilian radios for our anti-terrorism operation," said Junior Warrant Officer Dmitry Burskiy of the Ukrainian national guard. "Communicating over secure networks, with these much more durable radios, will make a difference in how we operate."
The paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade are in Ukraine for the first of several planned rotations to train Ukraine's newly-formed national guard as part of Fearless Guardian, which is scheduled to last six months.
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