Showcasing Multinational Training

By Ms. Joyce Costello ( Hohenfels )October 17, 2019

Georgia's Minister of Defense visits JMRC
1 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Mr. Irakli Garibashvili, Minister of Defense of Georgia, Lt. Gen. Vladimer Chachibaia, Chief of the Georgian Defense Forces and Brig. Gen. Alexander Kiknadze, Commander of East Command of Land Forces are among the distinguished visitors who observed ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Saber Junction distinguished visitor day
2 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Brig. Gen. Mircea Gologan, Commander 81st Mechanized Brigade, (left) talks with Col. Phil Brooks, Deputy Commanding Officer maneuver 1 ID and Capt. Matthew Carstensen, Multinational Interoperability Officer with the Joint Multinational Readiness Cen... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Ukraine and US interoperability
3 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

HOHENFELS, Germany- Hundreds of distinguish visitors come to the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany every year to observe best practices and engage with their troops. For the soldiers and civilians who are working behind the scenes to coordinate and execute these visits, it is more than a meet and greet- the visits are an opportunity to showcase the very best JMRC has to offer.

According to Kenneth McKoy, JMRC protocol officer, at the main DV day during Saber Junction there were 24 distinguished visitors ranging from US generals such as Maj Gen. Andrew Rohling, Deputy Commanding general at U.S. Army Europe, International Generals such as Italian Brig. Gen. Beniamino Vergori, commander of the Folgore Airborne Brigade and Polish Brig. Gen. Adam Marczak, commanding general of 25th Air Cavalry Brigade and dignitaries such the President of Oberfalz, Mr. Axel Bartelt. Furthermore, there were another 10 individual DV visitors such as those from the German training center, US Army Air Defense commandant and a Polish delegation during Saber Junction.

"Here at JMRC, we offer our multinational partners the opportunity to train in offensive and defensive situations," said McKoy. "We often showcase the training to allow people that will be involved in future rotations to come in and get a look at what they can expect and to also assist them with their preparation to train."

These visits also allow for the opportunities for improved interoperability amongst the multinational troops and their leadership.

"They get to witness the interoperability that JMRC has created with military training across NATO. A lot of people don't really have a grasp of just how technical it is, but once they come here an visit JMRC- they leave with a better understand and respect for what the JMRC does" McKoy said.

Compared to previous years, McKoy said he has noticed an influx of senior people who have become interested in JMRC and visited. The feedback that he has received after the DV tours and their chance to talk with the troops on the ground highlighted the fact that JMRC is offering a unique experience to those who come to train here.

"They are impressed on how we use contract civilians and Operational Environment Script to create scenarios that are replicas of what happens in real life on the battlefield," said McKoy.

With the upcoming Dragoon Ready exercise involving French, British and US troops to name a few as well as Defender 20, McKoy and his protocol team are busy coordinating future DV visits to showcase how JMRC really helps multinational units in training to win.