NATO Land Forces:Combined Resolve Shapes an Armored Brigade Combat Team

Exercise Combined Resolve 18 is underway in Bavaria,Germany at the Joint International Readiness Center near Hohenfels,U.S. Army Europe and Africa announced in a press release.It is a recurrent exercise meant to prepare a U.S. Armored Brigade Combat Team in support of NATO deterrence initiatives such as bolstering readiness,responsiveness,and reinforcement.Leading CR18 is the 2nd Brigade,1st Cavalry Division Armored Combat Team as the primary focus of the drills.The Polish Armed Forces' 16th Mechanized Brigade is the higher command.Participating in CR18 are over 4,000 Soldiers from the US,Allied and Partner nations,including:Azerbaijan,Albania,Belgium,Bosnia and Herzegovina,Georgia,Italy,Lithuania,North Macedonia,Poland,Romania,Slovakia,Slovenia,Turkey,the UK and the US.The exercise evaluates and assesses the ABCT's ability to conduct combat operations in a complex,multi-domain battlespace.By drilling with Allied and Partner nations,interoperability and readiness will be enhanced,said 7th Army Training Command.Thus the drills will break barriers of human and linguistic boundaries to ensure readiness to effectively respond to a regional crisis. For example,U.S. Airmen assigned to the 9th Air Support Operations Squadron interoperated with Belgian Soldiers assigned to the Intelligence,Surveillance,Target Acquisition and Reconnaisance Battalion and U.S. Soldiers of 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team,1st Cav on 6 May 2023.In another instance,U.S. Soldiers assigned to 15th Support Battalion,2nd ABCT of 1st Cav,supporting the 4th Infantry Division,prepared for decontamination conducted by Albanian Soldiers assigned to the Albanian Chemical,Biological,Radiological and Nuclear Platoon in the Hohenfels Training Area in Germany on 10 May 2023.The CR series provides a realistic manoeuvre training capability in Europe that can be tailored to individual US,Allied and Partner units.The simulated combat environment offers realistic training scenarios of a modern battlefield.CR18 reinforces the U.S. Army's,Allies' and Partners' ability to fight and win on any battlefield,7th Army Training Command indicated. The situation of an actually ongoing war in Europe points up the importance of achieving readiness to fight tonight,and the Soldiers on this exercise are aware of that necessity.* CR18 began on 21 April and runs through 23 May 2023.This iteration of CR18 has featured an emphasis on U.S. Civil Affairs Soldiers preparing for conflict in Europe by interoperating with Romanian Civil Affairs Soldiers (CIMIC).Such troops would interact with local civilians,including key leaders,in the course of military operations,so role-playing is used.