American soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division are normally stationed at Fort Stewart, Georgia. They arrived in Poland mainly from Germany. They brought heavy equipment to Świętoszów for the training, including M1 Abrams tanks, M109 Paladin self-propelled howitzers, M2 and M3 Bradley tracked infantry fighting vehicles, and armored recovery vehicles.
The joint training is taking place at the Świętoszów Training Area of the Polish Land Forces and will continue until the end of November.
In Poland, the soldiers from Georgia will train with subunits of the 10th Armored Cavalry Brigade. The main forces assigned to the training come from the 1st Tank Battalion, equipped with Leopard 2A4 tanks, but soldiers from the mechanized battalion and the self-propelled artillery squadron are also taking part.
The soldiers from both allied countries face many hours of joint tactical and live-fire training. They will practice cooperation among crews, sections and squads. They will also conduct firing exercises with individual weapons, grenade launchers and vehicle-mounted weapons. The training will test not only their knowledge of procedures but also their ability to cooperate. In addition, the soldiers from Świętoszów will have an opportunity to learn about the operating characteristics of the weapons used by the respective units.
For the soldiers of the 10th Armored Cavalry Brigade, this is another training exercise in an international setting. Recently, they trained jointly with soldiers from Germany, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands. However, there is something that distinguishes the current training from the previous ones: the legendary M1 Abrams tanks. This is the first time they can be seen in action at the training area in Świętoszów. “We are constantly gaining new experience that we can share. This exchange is mutual: we learn from the American soldiers, and they learn from us,” notes Captain Sebastian Krajnik of the 10th Armored Cavalry Brigade.
The first tactical classes and live-fire exercises have already taken place. Soldiers from mechanized, reconnaissance and tank platoons worked together.
The American artillerymen were the first to conduct firing exercises, using their M109 Paladin howitzers to engage targets positioned both directly in front of them and at a considerable distance.
The final stage of the training, involving the movement of the equipment and American soldiers, will take place in the first days of December.
Maj. Artur Pinkowski