GRAFENWOEHR, Germany -- Training is routine for this company of Danish soldiers. But what makes this training different for these infantrymen is the distance from home.
About 100 soldiers assigned to the 4th Armoured Infantry Company, 1st Armoured Battalion, Jutland Dragoon Regiment of the Royal Danish Army travelled the 1,000 kilometers to conduct live-fire training at Grafenwoehr Training Area.
"Our general mission here is to complete the objective of fighting in wooded areas and urban terrain and to also clear a two-story building," said Capt. Steen Eriksen, company commander of the 4th Inf. Co.
Last summer the company completed a similar training exercise with the entire Armoured Battalion.
"When the unit saw what they could do here, the leadership decided it was worthwhile to undergo the 12-hour drive," Eriksen said.
In Denmark, restrictions in urban and forested only allow the Danes to train with blanks. But the training here calls for live-fire, Eriksen said.
"There were also facilities in Sweden, but it was worthwhile to drive 12 hours to train here with forests, trenches, and built up areas. The facilities here were more conducive to our mission," Eriksen added.
The weather here was also very similar to their home climate, according to Eriksen, so the soldiers are comfortable with the environment.
As part of their yearly training requirements, the company needs to certify in specific types of training. This exercise serves multiple objectives: annual training for certification and a yearly training requirement as an infantry company.
"This is for certification prior to us going into a NATO Response Force this August, where we have to be on a six-month high readiness to be deployed whenever NATO or Denmark will use us, but most of all as a training objective the unit has to meet--live firing in wooded areas and urban terrain," Eriksen said.
4th Inf. Co. is divided into three groups, training at three ranges on the training area with a mixture of active duty and reserve soldiers.
The teams all follow the same mission of an infantry platoon and a mortar squad. The mortar squads shot 60-mm rounds up to 700 meters.
"The infantry portions who are conducting live-fire training in the woods are equipped with M-10 and M-60E6 rifles," said 1st Lt. Gerhard Wirenfeldt, the officer-in-charge at the range.
"Safety is a very important part of the mission, the facilities here are the best to accomplish our mission safely," Eriksen said.
With the safety protocols established by the Royal Danish Army and Grafenwoehr, the 4th Inf. Co. is likely to make this training routine at Grafenwoehr.
"In a division of our size every loss is felt so this facility provided the environment that would meet our mission objectives," said Steen.
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