CENTRAL TRAINING AREA, Estonia - The grey clouds gave way to sunshine at the Central Training Area, Estonia, April 30, as Lt. Col. Chad C. Chalfont, commander of 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division of Ft. Stewart, Georgia, narrated a demonstration of the M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank to distinguished visitors.
"We are honored to be here today training side by side with our ally during Operation Atlantic Resolve," said Chalfont. "It is our honor to serve here and it is my distinct honor to show the firepower and shock affect that an M1 Abram tank platoon can bring to the fight and bring to your country of Estonia."
Among the visitors were Jeffery Levine, U.S. Ambassador to Estonia and Lt. Gen. Riho Terras, commander of Estonian Defense Forces.
"Today was the first time it's been fired in Estonia and it allowed them (U.S. troops) to demonstrate the tank's capabilities to both the Estonian Defense Forces and members of the community," said Levine.
The event took place during Operation Atlantic Resolve, which is an on-going training exercise designed to unite the United States and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies to train and build relationships, trust and interoperability.
Levine stated that it is Operation Atlantic Resolve's mission to reassure our allies and deter anybody who might underestimate the United States and NATO's resolve.
During the demonstration, the tank commanders' orders and guidance could be heard from a live radio feed playing over the loud speakers. The crowd watched in awe as the 3rd ID tank platoon fired its M256A1, 120 mm smoothbore gun, performed a bounding over watch approach and eliminated a simulated target.
"The firepower of these tanks was very impressive and certainly carries the message that it's a formidable weapon," said Levine.
After a good working history between the U.S. and Estonia in Iraq and Afghanistan, Estonia has worked toward this kind of training for the last five years and is glad to see the U.S. tanks finally here, Terras stated.
"It's a historic event where allied forces are training together with Estonian forces, on Estonian soil, on the Estonian training range, I am very happy about it," he said.
Now that he has seen the M1 Abram in action, Terras said, he "hopes it will stay."
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