GRAFENWOEHR, Germany --- The Best Junior Officer Competition, unique to the U.S. Army in Europe, is a training event meant to challenge and refine competitors' leadership and cognitive decision-making skills in a high-intensity environment. The competition runs from July 23-27, 2012. The competitors, company-grade officers ranking from 2nd Lt. to Capt., represent Army units throughout Europe and have already distinguished themselves amongst their peers and exemplify the profession of arms. The competition brings these up-and-coming young leaders together for five days of physically and mentally challenging training, all for the chance to be named U.S. Army Europe's "Best Junior Officer" for 2012. Challenges include pistol and rifle qualifications, multiple foot marches, and various situational training exercises to test their intellect and instincts as leaders. The knowledge, skill-sets and leadership traits honed at this competition will help prepare the young leaders involved to excel when the time comes to lead Soldiers in a deployed environment. For more information or to see photos and video from the competition go to the U.S. Army Europe Web site http://www.eur.army.mil/BestOfficer.
What makes the U.S. Army in Europe unique? It's the partnership and theater security cooperation we share with our European Allies. Check out these videos that detail how troops in Europe work hand-in-hand with our partner nations to ensure that our countries are stronger together.
Saber Strike is a USAREUR-led theater security cooperation exercise conducted in the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania). The exercise focuses on command and control (C2), as well as interoperability with regional partners. This exercise will consist of a brigade-level command post exercise, and a field training exercise with a situational training exercise component. Saber Strike is an ongoing cooperative training effort with participation from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Canada, Finland, France, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The exercise trains participants on command and control as well as interoperability with regional partners. This exercise will consist of a brigade-level command post exercise, as well as company-level situational training exercises and field training exercises. This exercise is part of a program of annual exercises which rotate among Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania training areas. The Saber Strike exercise gives participants experience working with multinational partners, building trust and improving military interoperability. The U.S. Army in Europe is committed to strengthening our alliances, building partner capacity and the support of regional stability.
United States units will be primarily from the 21st Theater Sustainment Command, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, the Pennsylvania National Guard and a company from the 4th U.S. Marine Division. Additionally, the 127th Wing of the Michigan Air National Guard will provide A-10s for close air support and KC-135s for aerial refueling; as well as Joint Terminal Attack Controllers and Air Liason Parties from the Washington Air National Guard.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the State Partnership Program between the Michigan Air National Guard and Latvia.
Europe is home to America's most likely and capable coalition partners, and USAREUR plays an indispensable role in strengthening these partnerships through military cooperation, training and building expeditionary partners that can deploy and fight together.
USAREUR prepares forces for global employment while strengthening alliances and building partnership capacity with land forces across Europe. By enhancing U.S. and partner nation capacities through proactive theater security cooperation initiatives, USAREUR can operate side by side with America's European allies in an array of contingencies to ensure common capability and common security.
Full-Spectrum Training Environment (FSTE) simultaneously incorporates the complexities of 21st century threats such as adaptive hybrid elements, terrorists and criminals, irregular and conventional forces into a training event. The Army's newest FSTE exercise, ongoing now until Oct. 22nd at the Joint Multinational Training Commands (JMTC) Hohenfels training area, uses wrap-around training environment which combines the physical training area with computer-aided synthetic expansion of the battlefield to enhance exercise play. Unique among the Army's Combined Training Centers, the Europe based JMTC is able to conduct this FSTE exercise with participants from eleven partner nations along with U.S. Army forces including the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team and the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade.
Early FSTE training identified operational and tactical knowledge and skill gaps in Soldiers and junior officers due to the nature of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Consequently, the Army has changed its doctrine to Wide Area Security and Combined Arms Maneuver (WAS CAM).
As the ISAF and Iraq missions transition, Brigade Combat Teams will have more opportunity to plan, prepare and execute FSTE rotations. CTCs are organizing to support FSTE style rotations where BCTs will be challenged by an adaptive enemy in a complex operational environment. The U.S. Army in Europe is breaking the paradigm of counterinsurgency (COIN)-centric training by applying the Armys new WAS CAM doctrine in current and future FSTE exercises. In USAREUR, these exercises include forces from our nations current and future coalition partners. The next U.S. Army Europe FSTE rotation is planned for October 2012.
USAREURs JMTC will continue to use FSTE rotations to posture the Army to effectively respond to a broader range of contingency missions in todays and tomorrows complex operating environments. FSTE exercises provide a more comprehensive approach training Soldiers and units to fight in the most demanding and complex operating environments alongside our allies and partner nations preventing future conflict through strengthened allies and deterrence while preparing to prevail if called upon.
This is the official YouTube Channel for the United States Army in Europe (USAREUR).
U.S. Army Europe is uniquely positioned to advance American strategic interests across Eurasia, building teams, assuring allies and deterring enemies. The relationships we build during 350 theater security cooperation events in more than 40 countries each year lead directly to support for U.S. actions such as in Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya.
This is the official YouTube Channel for the United States Army in Europe (USAREUR).
U.S. Army Europe is uniquely positioned to advance American strategic interests across Eurasia, building teams, assuring allies and deterring enemies. The relat...
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