(PABRADE, LITHUANIA) -Soldiers assigned to 1st Battalion, 41st Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Armor Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division participated in the opening ceremony of Exercise Flaming Thunder August 1, 2016 at Pabrade, Lithuania.
Flaming Thunder is a two-week long multinational fire coordination exercise and combined arms live fire to enhance interoperability among NATO fire support units, and to train and conduct joint fire support with the integration of maneuver elements, close air support and close combat attack.
Lithuanian Col. Mindaugas Steponavicius, commander of Mechanized Infantry Iron Wolf Brigade, spoke on behalf of Lithuanian Brig. Gen. Valdemaras Rupsys, Commanding General for the Lithuanian Land Forces, to the Soldiers of the six NATO nations that attended the opening events and who will participate during the exercise.
"My wish is for you get to know each other, talk to each other, see what kind of equipment you have, and what kind of tasks you can fulfill," said Steponavicius. "The partnership is the main task to be accomplished here in these exercises. So do not think all the time about objectives and how to hit the target. Thank your allies and partners for being here, and welcome to Lithuania."
The Soldiers from 1st Bn., 41st FA Rgmt., involved in the exercise, are training with their Baltic allies in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve, a U.S. lead effort being conducted in Eastern Europe to demonstrate U.S. commitment to the collective security of NATO and dedication to enduring peace and stability in the region.
"I think that it is a great opportunity for us to train with our NATO allies," said 1st Lt. Nicholas John Zuccarini, a Field Artillery Officer with 1st Bn., 41st FA Rgmt., "Our guys are moving forward and getting better every single day."
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U.S. Army Europe is uniquely positioned in its 51 country area of responsibility to advance American strategic interests in Europe and Eurasia. The relationships we build during more than 1,000 theater security cooperation events in more than 40 countries each year lead directly to support for multinational contingency operations around the world, strengthen regional partnerships and enhance global security.
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