European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 21, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse Peacekeeper 94 continued from Page 17 Leavenworth Kan to develop procedures for the joint exercise. In the meetings that led to the exercise Simone said Quot soldiers cos arid officers were Able to get together and discuss at length How they re organized and How they work problems they have in the unit land How they go about solving them and what life is like for their soldiers. It was a free and open in december 1993, both governments agreed that the exercise would be held in to Skoye at the Home of the 27th cards motorized Rifle div which is an Active peacekeeping division the primary reason for holding the exercise in Russia was that it was too expensive for the russian government to Send Large numbers of troops to the states. The 27th guards conduct peacekeeping operations on a regular basis including More than a regiment of soldiers keeping the peace in Moldova Simone said. Although this is the first exercise of its kind it is not the. First joint training exercise involving russian and american a forces a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a Quot there have been some exercises on a very limited scale Over the past year to year and a half involving the other services Quot Simone said. Quot there have been a Good / number of ship passing exercises port visits and the air Force has done some exchanges of aircraft. Quot there have also been some search and Rescue exercises one in Siberia and one in Alaska very important exercises but limited in the number of people a. Before the to Skoye exercise the most significant exercise was one with marines in Vladivostok Russia in the Early part of july said Simone. It involved nearly 250 marines from each country making a Shore Landing about 60 Miles South of Vladivostok. This was done in a peacekeeping or humanitarian Aid context to provide assistance through establishing a beachhead to bring in Large quantities of Aid supplies. Quot peacekeeper 94 though was More significant in that it was More Complex Quot said things about a the exercise Are More complicated everything from the Airlift to the peed to bring equipment deep into Russia and depend largely on the russian Side to provide All kinds of logistic flying All personnel and equipment for the exercise in on about 27 c-141 Star lifter aircraft to a russian Airfield so far inside a Rural and relatively isolated Section of Russia a a pretty major breakthrough he added. Quot their logistics system was not prepared to work like this Quot air Force Gap Paul Williams of the 623rd air mobility come flight from Ramstein a Germany said of the russian military s ability to assist with the . Air flow. Quot we taxed their system quite a Simone said that the exercise was initially scheduled for. July 6-14. Quot a a. Quot starting in late april and Early May the russian. Government started to get a lot of questions and occasional protests from a vide Range of organizations Quot he recalled. Much of the protest grew out of people s misunderstanding the purpose of the exercise or a Lack of information surrounding it he said. ,. V Quot som of it was due to a local concern about a nuclear blast that occurred Here 40 years ago Quot Simone said referring to a soviet military test and exercise that took place on the to Skoye base on sept. 14,1954, Quot the soviet government never released details about it. As local people found out about it Over the past year or so they became angry about what happened. Some of their anger was directed at any other exorcise being done there Quot. Responding to the concerns the russian government postponed the exercise. After several meetings a new set of dates was established Tor Early september. The first troops arrived the last Day of August and the last return flight left to Skoye for Germany on sept. 12. Simone said events marking the 40th anniversary of the to Skoye nuclear explosion at the test site and the threat of demonstrations most Likely had an Impact on the exercise dates but it probably was not a driving Factor. Russian soldiers put on a combat demonstration for . Troops and local townspeople. Jet. 500 Miles 500 inv n 1 a Moscow x russian Soldier looks for concealed f cargo in a transport truck. At right russians inspect american humvee. Claimed one we also have out own equipment which is just As Good aps amps 18 the stars and stripes every vehicle in the . Sector is inspected even this one resembling a police car. . Soldiers receive Flowers from local children during ceremonies on the final Day of the exercise. A amps photos by Wayne v. Hail soldiers set off for guard duty at a checkpoint. Peacekeeping exercise a learning experience on All fronts by Wayne v. Hall staff writer t he . And russian Milit Aries have been called upon by the United nations to contribute roughly 250 soldiers each to a . Peacekeeping Force. Its Mission to supervise a truce pending free elections in the country of Atlantic which had been torn by conflicting factions. Quot this fictitious scenario brought members of. The two armies together in to Skoye Russia earlier this month for peacekeeping training. Although this situation was not real this time political conditions like those in Bosnia and Herzegovina demonstrate the need for such missions. Peacekeeping duties Are different from those in a combat situation. For this Mission dubbed peacekeeper 94, duties included reconnaissance and Security patrols Manning movement control Points or checkpoints Clearing delivery routes for humanitarian Aid ensuring the safety of convoys and assisting local authorities. Quot in other situations the enemy is Cut and dried. In these particular operations we Don t know who they Are Quot said sgt. 1st class Paul Pettaway the noncommissioned officer in charge of checkpoint a and a platoon sergeant with c co 1 St in 15th inf regt from Schweinfurt Germany. Quot doing these operations takes a lot of . Joint training involving the former cold War foes also involves a new Way of thinking for the military. A Quot a lot of the older soldiers in the exercise were taught of the evilness of the .s.r.&Quot said pfc. Sean Suggs a Driver from he co. 1st in 15th inf regt who has been in the army for about two years. Quot As for myself the instruction was More a be Friendly with the russians Quot Quot just being Able to do anything in Russia is a thrill Quot said Suggs. Quot i definitely see it hard to picture them As former not All soldiers were interested in How their. Counterparts trained or lived. Some soldiers were More interested in comparing terms of military service. F Quot i would like to learn How Long they serve and get to understand their principles and values Quot pvt. Sergie Novikov a russian infantryman who s been in the army for nine months said of the americans. Quot someday j would even like to go to the .&Quot one of the milestones of the exercise at least for two soldiers was a re enlistment ceremony held at the brigade command Post the two became the first . Soldiers to re enlist on russian . Brian m. Bustle a 27-year-old armorer in co a 1 St in 15th inf regt was the first to take the oath. He was followed by staff 5gt. Jay Lewis the 33-year-old communications noncommissioned officer for he co 1st brigade 3rd inf div in Wurzburg Germany. Quot i thought it would be kind of Good to be the first american to re enlist in Russia said Bustle a Veteran of roughly 3v"years. Quot i m hoping that we have other interaction with the russian soldiers. I d like to see our army get to know them As Well As we now know. The germans and following the conclusion of the exercise the american soldiers were treated to a show of russian culture by the song and dance ensemble of the Volga military Region. The group of musicians and dancers Are All soldiers from Samara the nearest town some 120 Miles away. They entertained the exercise participants for More than an hour with various traditional dances skits and musical performances. The conclusion of the performance evoked a standing ovation that lasted several minutes and was spearheaded by the . Soldiers. During the last Days of the deployment soldiers had More of an Opportunity to talk with their counterparts outside the training environment. While preparing for their return to Schweinfurt Many said that they would like to return to Russia some Day. Wednesday september 21, 1994 the stars and stripes 19
