
ESBJERG, Denmark — The vessel ARC Endurance recently delivered an estimated 737 vehicles and pieces of equipment, including Bradley Fighting Vehicles, Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck A4s, Joint Light Tactical Vehicles, M88 Recovery Vehicles and M1 Abram Tanks at the port in Esbjerg, Denmark on June 10, 2024. The vehicles belong to the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, currently deployed to Europe. The 1st ABCT, 1st Cavalry Division — stationed at Fort Cavazos, Texas — replaced the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, as part of a regular rotation of forces to support the United States’ commitment to Operation Atlantic Resolve.
“The interoperability we’ve been experiencing at the port has been very successful,” said Lt. Col. James Acevedo, commander, 838th Transportation Battalion. “The British detachment has taken the lead on operating with a contractor that is doing the work inside of the vessel. Their mission command element that they have in charge of this port operation is very successful, along with the integration of the Surface Deployment and Distribution Command that is actually enabling this operation.”
Soldiers from the U.S. Army's 91st Brigade Engineer Battalion, 2-12 Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, 355th Movement Control Team; Danish Homeguard; the U.K.'s 29th Regiment Royal Logistics Corps; and commercial organizations discharged the vehicles and equipment, efficiently executing its reception, staging and onward movement, or RSOM.
“The key advantage we have operating in the port of Esbjerg, Denmark is the hospitality that we receive from the Danish people,” said Acevedo. “The coordination that we have with them has always been key for successful operations. And this is a key for the execution of DEFENDER 24 where the gateway of victory is operation in ports across the north of the Alps.”
Interoperability is a crucial notion in the military; having relationships between Soldiers from different countries makes NATO operations a success and allows the workflow to be smooth and cooperative, allowing for a constant progression of each tasked mission.
The United Kingdom has been working with NATO allies such as the United States, Germany and Denmark to conduct RSOM operations. The 21st Theater Sustainment Command’s line of effort within their campaign plan is collective sustainment, emphasizing that the unit must work with its allies and partners all across Europe for mission success; a mentality shared by British allies especially in reoccurring ports such as Esbjerg that hold strategic importance.

“We’ve worked with both the U.S. and Danish a lot in recent past,” said British Army Brigadier Simon Smith, commander, 104th Theater Sustainment Brigade. “We’re interoperating a lot with lots of our NATO Allies, forging stronger relationships and will continue to see those partnerships really grow.”
The Danish Army’s collaboration with the British and U.S. armies within the port of Esbjerg underscores the significance of the partnerships between NATO allies. This partnership not only enhances operational efficiency but also allows for these armies to share best practices, improve interoperability, and strengthen relationships.
“Working together is the nature of NATO,” said Danish Army Lt. Col. Tobias Tesch, commander, Homeguard District South and South Jutland. “If we are not able to do so well, then we don’t have any relevance at all. So getting along and working together to get this operation done and it’s a great opportunity. We need to do this all the time.”
The Esbjerg port operation also demonstrated that the U.S. joint forces provides proactive and scalable options for priority missions.
The 1st Cavalry Division will fall under the command of the U.S. Army V Corps. Also known as “Victory Corps,” V Corps is America’s forward-deployed corps in Europe and works alongside NATO allies and regional security partners to provide combat-ready forces, execute joint and multinational training exercises, and retain command and control for all rotational and assigned units in the European theater.
Since April 2014, U.S. Army Europe and Africa has led the Department of Defense’s Defender 24 land efforts by bringing units based in the U.S. to Europe on a rotational basis. Deployed units are ready, combat-capable forces able to conduct extensive bilateral, joint, and multilateral training throughout their deployments to more than a dozen European countries. Moreover, Defender 24 enables the U.S. to enhance deterrence, increase readiness, and support NATO.
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