Partner nations come together as curtain closes on Noble Partner 18

VAZIANI TRAINING AREA, Georgia (Aug. 15, 2018) - Noble Partner 18 concluded with a combined arms live-fire exercise and a ceremony at Vaziani Training Area, Georgia, Aug. 15, 2018.

NP18 was a cooperatively-led multinational training exercise in its fourth iteration which supported the training of Georgian Armed Forces' mechanized and Special Operation Forces, U.S. Regionally Aligned Forces, the U.S. Army and Air National Guard from the state of Georgia, and 11 other participating nations.

"We were able to design some very challenging and complex live fires which pushed our Soldiers to make decisions under pressure in an environment in which we were reliant in our Georgian partners," said Lt. Col. Andrew Gallo, commander of 3rd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment. "The relationship between the U.S. and the Georgians has been made much stronger at the tactical level."

Key tasks for NP18 were conducting reception staging and onward movement (RSOM) and reverse RSOM, a tactical road march by 2 CR, combined urban operations, air assaults, and combined live-fire exercises in the vicinities of the Vaziani and Camp Norio Training Areas.

"These tasks were not easy," said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Reginald Neal, Director of the Joint Staff for the Georgia National Guard as he addressed a formation of soldiers from numerous countries. "But due to your perseverance, and ability to work together through daily challenges, this exercise has been a tremendous success."

The fifth iteration of the Noble Partner training exercise is scheduled for 2020 and already some leaders are eager to show their country's potential.

"We didn't participate in the field with a unit-size element, but two years from now I will bring a company-size Norwegian element to train together with the Georgians and the other nations," said Norwegian army Col. Ivar Hoff. "I've done a number of deployments, I've been to war zones all over, and I saw clearly that this exercise is moving in the right direction."

"We have to stand together," Hoff said. "We have to do this as one entity, one team."