Soldiers from 24 allied and partner countries will take part in the manoeuvres, which are being held for the sixth time. They are the largest manoeuvres in this part of Europe since the end of the Cold War.
Around 3,200 soldiers will take part in the Anakonda-16 exercise at the Żagań Training Area of the Land Forces. The participating forces include 1,300 Spaniards, 600 Britons, more than 400 Americans, 130 Croats and Slovenes, 20 Lithuanians and 15 Turks, as well as 800 soldiers from the 10th Armored Cavalry Brigade and 70 armored troops from the 34th Armored Cavalry Brigade. For the exercise, the soldiers will use more than 500 vehicles, six Apache helicopters, American M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and Abrams tanks, British Warrior infantry fighting vehicles, Leopard 2A4 and 2A5 tanks, BWP-1 infantry fighting vehicles, ZSU-23-4 self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery and missile systems, and 2S1 “Goździk” self-propelled howitzers.
The most important moment of the ceremony was the so-called TOA (English: TOA – Transfer of Authority), meaning that the commanding officer of the 10th Armored Cavalry Brigade assumed command of all the exercising elements. “I assure you that we have taken on the challenge of confirming our capabilities, readiness and interoperability with the participating allies and partners from the USA, Great Britain, Croatia, Spain, Lithuania, Slovenia and Turkey, in order to conduct joint integration and operations so as to meet the current requirements of the battlefield. I am deeply convinced that, as host, my brigade will make an effective and significant contribution to building the strength of the coalition, which will be reflected in the entire Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland and its military potential. I consider the Anakonda-16 exercise commenced,” said the commander of the 10th Armored Cavalry Brigade, Brigadier General Maciej Jabłoński.
The Anakonda-16 exercise will continue until June 17.
Second Lieutenant Radosław Gruźlewski/ii