GYOR, Hungary - U.S. and Hungarian forces conducted a tactical bridge and water crossing of the Danube River at Gyor, July 5.
Szentes Axe, a Hungarian national exercise, facilitates the freedom of movement of 2nd Cavalry Regiment as the unit crosses from Hungary and into Romania for more training opportunities.
The exercise falls under Saber Guardian, a U.S. European Command Joint Exercise Program. The annual, multinational exercise is the largest to occur in the Black Sea Region.
2nd Cavalry Regiment from Vilseck, Germany, traveled 800 kilometers and moved across three countries to participate in the water crossing exercise.
The bridge, employed by Ohio National Guard and the 25th Infantry Brigade from Hungarian Defense Forces, created a path, facilitating movement for 50 military vehicles for 2nd Cavalry Regiment. A pontoon nearby acted as a ferry, transporting military vehicles across the river.
Nine rehearsals were scheduled and completed before the exercise. Since the units did not train together previously on the river crossing, the days of practice provided ample time to harmonize the multiple pieces in the exercise.
The river crossing exercise held several layers of training to create a complex scenario. The Ohio National Guard and the Hungarian Defense Forces connected the bridge and utilized a ferry. The exercise also included a man overboard scenario and an attack by an enemy, portrayed by a Hungarian air force helicopter.
Participating in such exercises creates training opportunities with other nations and improves readiness. The environment builds experience and allows forces to sharpen military skills.
Training alongside each other, sharing equipment and exchanging ideas helps create synchronization for the battlefield, said Lt. Col. Adam J. Lackey, commander of 1st Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment. The ability to call forth different assets and units for a common interest or goal.
"The other part of what we're doing here and training together, it helps show that we aren't that different," Lackey said. "We have challenges, technical, procedural and personal but we work through them and the more we come together, the more we see that those challenges can be overcome if we have a common purpose."
With several days of rehearsals, the units experimented with equipment and standard operating procedures. The units tested several methods of accomplishing a task and ways to increase efficiency.
With little doubt, the rehearsals permitted the units to fine tune their individual tasks to achieve a harmonious, combined operation.
Flawless execution is the result of endless preparation. Communication is key to coordination and achieving the objective.
The guidance given to the drivers and crew was extremely accurate in the information it relayed, said Pfc. James Chittenden, driver, headquarters and headquarters troop, 1st Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment. It only becomes a matter of applying that knowledge of speed and direction.
Across the bridge, it's a matter of trust.
"I'm listening through my tank commander and my vehicle commander, knowing how far left, how far right and how fast do I need to go," Chittenden remarked. "Basically, I'm just driving the vehicle but I'm nothing without the eyes and ears of my (gunner) and vehicle commander."
No operation conducted alone can produce the same results.
Exercises like Szentes Axe or Saber Guardian prove no unit or country operates alone, Lackey relayed. Every day provides an opening for working with partners and Allies, to build or improve relationships within NATO.
"The NATO Alliance is one of the most successful, oldest alliances in history," said Maj. Gen. John Gronski, Deputy Commanding General, Army National Guard, U.S. Army Europe. "It's important for the NATO Alliance to continue to train together to improve interoperability, to improve freedom of movement, and also to show any adversaries of ours that we are willing to stay together, united to defend our sovereignty."
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