Armed Forces
10 Thousand NATO Soldiers To Be Involved In Training Within The Polish Ranges This Year
Fot. NASA / nasa.gov
The Polish General Command of the Armed Forces published a plan of the joint, multinational exercises for the year 2015. In total, ca. 10 thousand soldiers of the allied forces would be involved in the operational activities related to the scheduled events. The fact that the scope of the exercises is so wide, stems from the bolstered NATO presence in the Mid-Eastern European region, in the light of the Ukrainian crisis.
According to the Polish General Command of the Armed Forces, Poland is going to become a training ground for almost 10 thousand soldiers from 18 countries. The US, Canadian, British and French forces would be the most significant ones on the list. The Poles will be involved in the exercises taking place within 7 firing ranges, on land, sea and in the air.
According to the information provided by the Bundeswehr’s press services, German soldiers would also be involved in the Dragoon exercise, which is scheduled to happen in the second half of this year. This operation would involve all of the Polish Armed Forces – the army, the navy and the air force. As it was stressed by the spokesperson of the Polish Ministry of Defence, Colonel Jacek Sońta, when it comes to the land forces, the 11th Lubuska Armoured Cavalry Division would be the primary unit involved in the operations. The Dragoon exercise is also going to involve a British unit, consisting of ca. 1000 soldiers (most probably an armoured, battalion-sized, combat group, similar to the one involved in the Black Eagle operation last year).
15 key training objectives that would involve foreign forces are scheduled to be realized within the Polish territory in the second half of 2015. The main effort is to be undertaken in June, when the soldiers coming from the units acting under jurisdiction of the General Command, and the allied forces, are going to be involved in 10 key training operations and exercises. The largest of the planned events is the Saber Strike operation – it is an exercise organized by the US Army’s European Command. The main portion of that operation is going to take place in Poland, with smaller training carried out in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Scope of the Saber Strike exercise is to be much larger than it was in case of the earlier editions of that operation. It is said that the exercise is going to involve eve 10 thousand soldiers.
BALTOPS operation is scheduled to happen in June, within the Baltic sea. The exercise will involve almost 100 ships and aircraft from USA, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Poland, the UK, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. This naval exercise would also involve some elements of the land forces as well, as the General Command informs.
However, the most important training initiative, within the scope of the arrangements made during the Newport NATO summit, is going to be realized in a form of the Noble Jump exercise within the Żagań training range. During this operation, assessment of the NATO quick reaction forces is going to be carried out. The exercise will involve almost 2 thousand soldiers and 300 units of equipment. Meanwhile, the Polish Air Force is going to be deeply involved in the Eagle Talon/Ramstein Guard operations, which are also going to involve the pilots of the USAF and the RCAF.
The second quarter of the year shall also involve the US detachments in some training operations. Other detachments that are to be involved would come from Canada, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and France. At the same time, during the second quarter of the year, the Polish soldiers are to participate in 16 training initiatives beyond the Polish borders – as the command reports.
Have a look at our earlier article, published back in January, regarding the training plans within the Polish firing ranges, for more information.