PABRADE, Lithuania (Aug. 6, 2015) -- A bilateral training mission was held over a two-day period at the General Silvestras Zlikaliskas Training Area here, involving U.S. Army and Lithuanian Land Forces, or LLF, Soldiers learning to co-operate a wire guided missile system.
As part of exercise Uhlan Fury, U.S. Army Soldiers from Dog Company, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 4th Infantry Division, stationed in Vicenza, Italy, and currently deployed to Lithuania, trained soldiers assigned to Grand Duchess Birut Uhlan Battalion, or BUB , stationed in Alytus, Lithuania, in the operation of the BGM-71 Tube-launched, Optically-tracked, Wire- Guided, or TOW, anti-tank missile system which uses the M41 Improved Target Acquisition Sight, or ITAS, as it operational base.
Dog Company and the BUB have been working together for over a month now, learning tactics and procedures from each other in an effort to increase security in the region and mutual support of NATO allies.
From atop one of several High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles, or HMMWV, Spc. Darien Larson, a 20-year-old infantryman assigned to Dog Company as a TOW gunner, acts as a subject matter expert for LLF Soldiers, who spent the better part of Aug. 5, familiarizing themselves with the missile system.
"They've [LLF Soldiers] learned a lot over the last two days," said Larson, a Harker Heights, Texas native. "It just goes to show that when you work together as one team, you can get the job done."
Overall, the training was viewed as a successful bilateral exercise in interoperability among NATO allies. Dog Company's fourth platoon leader, 1st Lt. Ty R. Boyle, watched one missile after another hit their respective targets and spoke about the experience gained from their partnership with Uhlan Battalion.
"Training went very well today," Boyle, a native of International Falls, Minnesota, said. "It's always a great opportunity for us when we get to work with our allies on a range like this one. It was obvious that both U.S. and Lithuanian Soldiers received good training before coming to the range, and that translated to good execution on the range today."
The Soldiers of Dog Company are in Europe as part of Atlantic Resolve, a demonstration of continued U.S. commitment to the collective security of NATO and to enduring peace and stability in the region. U.S. Army Europe is leading Atlantic Resolve enhanced land force multinational training and security cooperation activities taking place across Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and Bulgaria; to ensure multinational interoperability, strengthen relationships among allied militaries, contribute to regional stability and demonstrate U.S. commitment to NATO.
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