RUKLA, Lithuania - On the anniversary of the most devastating attack on American soil, the attack on the Twin Towers, a bilateral exercise wraps up, bringing two nations closer together through teamwork and friendship.
Exercise Engineer Thunder was designed to improve America and Lithuania's ability to operate as a combined force, which increases NATO's ability to deter aggressors. Through the four-day event, explosive ordinance disposal units, engineer units and infantry all worked together to integrate each other's tactics into their own.
Primarily, Engineer Thunder focused on what engineers could bring to the battlefield, and how best the EOD and infantry units utilize them. The engineers taught EOD and the infantry how to mount a more hardy defense using front-end loaders, bulldozers and tractors. Through this method, the engineers learned how to work alongside their brothers in arms in different skill sets.
From the infantry side of the house, it was nearly business as usual: find the enemy and eliminate them. The addition of EOD and engineers brought a welcome addition to the mix. U.S. Army 1st Lt. Ty Boyle, a platoon leader with Dog Company, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, learned engineering tasks during the exercise that will enhance his capabilities on the battlefield.
"These tasks are something that, prior to this exercise we had some experience with as an infantry company," said Boyle, a native of International Falls, Minnesota. "but this is a great opportunity to work with our Lithuanian allies to gain more expertise in those engineering tasks."
As the workhorse of this exercise, the engineers provided the backbone of operations by setting up teaching stations and designing terrain obstacles for Engineer Thunder, as well as providing the skill and knowledge of a military engineer. As a Lithuanian Land Forces engineer officer assigned to the General Engineer Coy, Juozas Vitkus Engineer Battalion, 1st Lt. Olegas Grosevas, was excited to be working with his EOD and infantry counterparts.
"We learned how to work with the infantry and EOD units," said Grosevas, a native of Kaunas. "We learned what they can provide and we taught them that as well. It's a great honor to work with U.S. troops. Whenever we work with them it always brings my troops morale up."
The most dangerous part of Engineer Thunder came in the form of small packages that, when utilized on the battlefield by EOD Soldiers, can punch a hole into the enemy through which the infantry and engineers charge through. A Company, 103rd Brigade Engineer Battalion, 173rd Airborne Brigade's 1st Sgt., Sgt. 1st Class Karl Yepez and his troops taught what they knew to the engineers and infantry and helped make Engineer Thunder a success.
"I think it's a great thing teaching the infantry and engineers the tactics that use," said Yepez, a San Diego native. "they now know how to utilize us when we get attached to their units. The training was executed well because Lithuania has been good to us since we got here. I feel like we're really making a difference here, and I hope it continues."
As Engineer Thunder 2015 comes to a close, the Soldiers involved, regardless of nationality or military operational specialty, learned how to operate together toward one goal despite language barriers and tactical diversity. It has formed partnerships and friendships that mean a more secure future for Lithuania and NATO allied Europe as a whole.
The Soldiers of Dog and Alpha Company's, 173rd Airborne Brigade, 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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