Saber Strike

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Saber Strike is a multinational series of maneuvers by the United States Army Europe (USAREUR), which has been taking place in the Baltic States and Poland on a rotating basis since 2011 . Saber Strike is part of "Allied Shield", which also includes the maneuvers BALTOPS, Noble Jump and Trident Joust.

Saber Strike logo
Saber Strike opened in 2014
Saber Strike After Action Report 2014
Saber Strike graduation ceremony 2014
Firing of an FGM-148 Javelin anti-aircraft body on Exercise Saber Strike
Flight maneuvers of an A-10 ground attack aircraft during exercise Saber Strike 2015
Field guns during exercise Saber Strike 2015
Fire support to a USMC mortar group during Exercise Saber Strike 2015
German self-propelled howitzer during exercise Saber Strike 2015
Canadian and US infantry fighting in the forest during exercise Saber Strike 2014

assignment

The exercise takes place at military training areas in Lithuania , Latvia and Estonia . An average of 2,000 soldiers from 14 countries are involved in them. Saber Strike is supposed to study the regional cooperation of the allies with one another, the leadership behavior of multinational staffs and combat situations at the brigade level in the field. In addition, there are computer simulations and certain types of combat up to company level, which result from the various situations. Another aspect is the close air support (CAS), which is requested by ground forces and a performance record of the US Expeditionary Medical Support (EMEDS, sanitary engineering and wounded supply). The main purpose of Saber Strike is to demonstrate the combat capabilities of readiness task forces in the event of possible Russian aggression.

Troops involved

Latvian, Estonian, Lithuanian and Polish units as well as US contingents of the 56th Stryker Brigade, 172nd Infantry Brigade and the 16th Resupply Brigade took part in Saber Strike 2011 . A year later troops from Canada , Finland , France and Great Britain joined them, from the American side the 2nd Cavalry Regiment and the Pennsylvania National Guard , which transferred Strykern to Latvia with a company . This time close air support came from A-10 ground attack aircraft belonging to the Michigan Air National Guard. The 4th U.S. Marine Division provided the Joint Terminal Air Controller (JTAC) . In 2013, German and Danish troops also made their contingents. Norway and Sweden sent maneuver observers . A Gurkha unit, the Second Battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles (2RGR), also took part in the exercise in 2015 as part of the 230-strong British armed forces and part of the UK's High Readiness Brigade .

procedure

Saber Strike is conceptually designed as a Field and Situational Training Exercise in Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, as a Joint Tactical Air Controller Training in Estonia and as a Command Post Exercise in Lithuania.

Saber Strike 2011

Saber Strike 2011 marked the beginning of the series of maneuvers and was still under the influence of the Afghan war on the four nations involved. The exercise included commanding command posts to combat troops in the defense type of combat, as well as combat reconnaissance and tracing operations. The Saber Strike 2011 exercise began on October 18, 2011 at the Ādaži military training area in Latvia.

Saber Strike 2012

A year later, 2,000 soldiers from eight countries took part in exercise Saber Strike 2012 in Estonia and Latvia from June 10-22, 2012. The focus was on the armed forces from the three Baltic countries, of which Estonia and Latvia had already participated in ISAF and KFOR missions. The task of the combat exercise was to coordinate multinational command and cooperation with civilian agencies. During the field exercise, training was carried out under close-to-combat conditions at company and platoon level with fire support .

Saber Strike 2013

Saber Strike 2013 took place between June 3-14, 2013 at various training sites in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and was commanded by the Contingency Command Post (CCP) and the Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC). The innovation came from the USAREUR CCP, from Pabradė in Lithuania. A new system, the Multilateral Interoperability Program (MIP), was presented, which makes it possible to standardize the commands of the command posts of different nations on uniform data and information of a common interface.

Saber Strike 2014

Saber Strike 2014 was conducted under the direction of Joint Force Command Brunssum and Major General Mark McQueen between June 9 and 20, 2014 in the Baltic States. The opening ceremony was accompanied by Boeing B-52 bombers . The main contingent of the ground forces were the Danes with 1,100 men. The Deputy Russian Foreign Minister said

"We can't take this military buildup by the alliance next to Russia's borders as anything but a demonstration of hostile intention. The deployment of extra NATO troops in Central and Eastern Europe, even on a rotational basis [...] "

“We can see the military deployment of the Alliance in the immediate vicinity of the Russian border as nothing more than hostile intent. The deployment of additional NATO troops in Central and Eastern Europe, also on a rotation basis [...] "

- Vladimir Titov

The focus of Saber Strike 2014 was defense and attack with the participation of ten countries. Saber Strike was the biggest exercise up until then. 4,700 soldiers and over 800 combat vehicles including the M2 Bradley , M1126 Stryker , XA-180 , XA-202 and M113 took part. At the same time, Russian forces were conducting maneuvers in the Kaliningrad area . They practiced a first strike, amphibious landing maneuvers by marines, air landings and attacks by ground attack aircraft .

Saber Strike 2015

Saber Strike 2015, from June 8 to 19, 2015, was intended to show a reaction on NATO's northeast flank to Russian aggression in Ukraine . The exercise opened on June 8 at the Nemencine Training Area in Lithuania. Participation was expanded to 6,000 soldiers from 13 nations. Including US Marines and Paratroopers. From the Bundeswehr soldiers took the rifle battalion 291 of Illkirch, under the command of Lt. Col. some mark-Ulrich Cropp, on the military training area Drawsko Pomorskie. Together with Danish Leopard 2 battle tanks, they practiced the interaction of surveillance, reconnaissance and combat shooting in the forest. The fighter platoons practiced the attack in the wooded as well as in the open area , according to the principle of fire and movement with its individual phases, unrecognized approach to the starting point of the storm, crossing the drainage line, storm and burglary as well as fighting through the depths. The attack on an enemy position system is carried out by several storm groups and a cover group for security. The cover group goes first in the rifle pack, the storm groups follow in a rifle line. In addition to infantry training, self-propelled howitzers 2000 of the Artillery Battalion 295 and MARS rocket launchers were also used. With the help of various reconnaissance systems, such as the KZO small aircraft or the Joint Fire Support Team, the MRS provided indirect fire support to the combat troops. Parallel to “Saber Strike”, the Noble Jump exercise in Żagań took place that year , in which the 371 Panzer Grenadier Battalion took part. A total of 600 German soldiers were involved in Saber Strike 2015. The Field Training Exercise (FTX) was preceded by a Command Post Exercise (CPX) in Lithuania.

"On June 1 through 19 exercise Saber Strike 2015 held concurrently in the three Baltic States and Poland will train roughly 6 thousand troops from 13 NATO allies and partner nations. It will concentrate the most numerous allied capabilities on the soil of Lithuania since accessing NATO. The overall goal of the US Army Europe-organized international Exercise Saber Strike 2015 is to develop and enhance the cooperation in planning and executing military operations, improving professionalism of military personnel and training to render host nation support. This year brigade-level Command Post Exercise (CPX) and planning procedures will be based at the General Adolfas Ramanauskas Warfare Training Center (Nemenčinė) and train staffs of brigades from 5 NATO allies, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the USA. Battalion-level field training exercise (FTX) and situational fire exercises will be running concurrently in Latvia's, Lithuania's, and Poland's military training areas. […] FTXs in Lithuania involving roughly 1600 soldiers from across the Lithuanian Land Force and roughly 900 soldiers from deployed or rotating US, German, Portuguese ground units and Canadian and Slovenian air control units will take place at the Gaižiūnų (Rukla) and the General Silvestras Žukauskas (Pabradė) Training Areas. "

- Ministry of National Defense, Republic of Lituania : International Exercise Saber Strike 15 will train roughly 6 thousand soldiers

Saber Strike 2015 was under the command of Lieutenant General Ben Hodges (commanding general of US Army Europe), his deputy Major General William K. Gayler and Command Sergeant Major Sheryl D. Lyon.

Saber Strike 2016

Saber Strike took place from late May to mid-June; The host was the United States European Command (EUCOM). It was to be the largest NATO exercise in Europe in 2016. The 2nd Cavalry Regiment was relocated from Germany to the Baltic States on a 2,400-kilometer tactical march . Around 10,000 soldiers from 13 countries took part in the maneuver. At about the same time, the “Anaconda” maneuver took place in Poland. Up to 31,000 soldiers from over 20 countries (including Ukraine and Georgia) took part.

Saber Strike 2018

Since June 3, 2018, a total of around 18,000 soldiers from 19 NATO and non-NATO countries have taken part in the exercise in the Baltic States and Poland. A battle with Russia and Belarus over the Suwalki gap is simulated .

Ādaži practice area

The 10,500 hectare training camp daži is not far from Riga and has had a long military tradition under the old name "Gauja Poligon" since the First World War. From 1945 to 1953 it served the Latvian riflemen of the 43rd Soviet Guard Army as a maneuvering area. Mot riflemen and NBC defense units of the Soviet Army were based here from 1969 to 1993 . In 1994 the Latvian National Army took over the direction. Today Ādaži is one of the largest military bases in the Baltic States. It includes 7,950 hectares of training ground (8 kilometers wide, 12 kilometers long), shooting ranges and the Kadaga camp. In addition to the military purpose of the area, civil uses such as hiking, berry and mushroom picking and hunting are also permitted in some cases.

criticism

The Russian government expressed concern over the Saber Strike; the military presence of NATO is expanding to the east. Reaction troops have been increased and their operational activities expanded by stationing command units in Eastern European countries. The German-Dutch Corps in Münster and the Panzergrenadierbataillon 371 of the Bundeswehr are an essential part of the spearhead ( NATO Response Force ), which is part of a “reinsurance” strategy and signals to the Eastern European member states that they are ready to defend themselves. The European Leadership Network (ELN) published a paper in February 2016 that also addressed maneuvering activities by Russia and NATO.

Saber Strike 2016 was criticized by the German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier ( SPD ) in June 2016 as "loud saber rattles and war howls". It is "fatal" to narrow the view of the military and to seek salvation in a policy of deterrence. “Anyone who believes that symbolic tank parades on the eastern border of the alliance will create more security, is wrong. [...] We are well advised not to deliver any excuses for a new, old confrontation free of charge. "

See also

Web links

Notes and individual references

  1. ↑ In German: Saber blow or saber rattle
  2. ^ NATO maneuver Saber Strike-15: Active phase started in Poland. ( Memento from June 10, 2016 in the Internet Archive ). In: SputnikNews.com. June 8, 2015.
  3. ↑ Gurkhas Lead UK Contribution To Latvia NATO Exercise. ( Memento from April 26, 2016 in the Internet Archive ). In: Forces.tv. June 11, 2015.
  4. ↑ Eur.Army.Mil/SaberStrike. ( Memento from March 20, 2016 in the Internet Archive ).
  5. ↑ Saber Strike. ( Memento of April 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ). In: GlobalSecurity.org.
  6. ^ Exercise "Saber Strike" is an excellent example of cooperation , interview with USAREUR spokesman Colonel Bill Williams
  7. ^ NATO joins Exercise Saber Strike 2014 in the Baltics
  8. ↑ Saber Strike 2014, EMPA
  9. ^ Tanks, troops, jets: NATO countries launch full-scale war games in Baltic, RT
  10. ^ Tanks, troops, jets: NATO countries launch full-scale war games in Baltic
  11. ^ Exercise Saber Strike 15 demonstrates international cooperation capabilities, US Army Europe Public Affairs, June 1, 2015
  12. ^ NATO stages large-scale Saber Strike exercise in Lithuania on UA ​​Today TV
  13. ↑ In Saber Strike 15, US paratroopers and Marines train on Russia's doorstep, The Washington Post, July 15, 2015
  14. ↑ Saber Strike: Jägerzug in the attack on the German army
  15. ↑ Portrait: The fire control sergeant during the exercise "Saber Strike", German Army
  16. ^ "Saber Strike 2015" - German-French brigade exercises in West Pomerania, Dr. Alexander Michel in Südkurier on June 19, 2015
  17. ↑ Exercise Watch: 'Saber Strike' in the NATO Northeast with 600 Germans, by Thomas Wiegold in Augenstraighteaus, June 1, 2015
  18. ↑ International Exercise Saber Strike 15 will train roughly 6 thousand soldiers, Ministry of National Defense, Republic of Lituania
  19. ↑ Eur.Army.Mil/Leaders. ( Memento from April 12, 2016 in the Internet Archive ).
  20. ↑ www.eur.army.mil/SaberStrike/
  21. ^ Announcement of Saber Strike 2016
  22. ^ Estonian World, April 10, 2016: Estonia to host a record number of US troops in Saber Strike exercise
  23. ↑ spiegel.de, June 7, 2016
  24. ↑ Tens of thousands of soldiers against fear. In: FAZ.net. June 7, 2016.
  25. ^ Saber rattles in the Baltic States
  26. ↑ Adazi Military Camp. ( Memento of April 13, 2016 in the Internet Archive ). In: BalticStates.Wikia.com.
  27. ↑ Page no longer available , search in web archives: Presentation of the Adazi Training and Shooting Area.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / putniadazos.lv
  28. ↑ NATO is expanding further and further east - Moscow worried, Sputniknews
  29. ↑ Johannes Leithäuser: Dress rehearsal with armored personnel carriers. In: FAZ.net. June 9, 2015.
  30. ^ Towards a New Equilibrium. Minimizing the risks of NATO and Russia's new military postures. ( Memento from June 15, 2016 in the Internet Archive ). (PDF; 450 kB). In: EuropeanLeadershipNetwork.org.
  31. ^ Conflict with Russia: Steinmeier criticizes NATO maneuvers in Eastern Europe . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . June 18, 2016, ISSN  0174-4909 ( faz.net [accessed June 20, 2016]).