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Soldiers Train at Allied Spirit VIII
1st Sgt. Adam Cook, the senior enlisted Soldier in Company D, 82nd Brigade Engineer Battalion, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, from Fort Riley, Kansas, inspects his unit’s convoy during the Allied Spirit VIII training exercise at Hohenfels Training Area, Germany, Jan. 25, 2018. Allied Spirit VIII is a multinational exercise with over 4,100 participants from 10 nations that is designed to enhance interoperability and readiness across war-fighting functions. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Hubert D. Delany III / 22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)
Photo by: Spc. Hubert Delany
Grafenwoehr, Germany (Jan. 26, 2018) -- "We're like AAFES (Army and Air Force Exchange Service), we go where you go," said Daniel Cintron, a retired master sergeant, who is now the chief of the Training Support Center (TSC) in Hohenfels, Germany.
The TSC is part of Regional Training Support Division-East, one of divisions that make up the 7th Army Training Command's Training Support Activity Europe (TSAE) organization. TSAE identifies, acquires, manages and provides state-of-the-art home station, rotational and expeditionary training support to prepare joint and multinational forces to win in any operating environment. It does this by having multiple TSCs spread throughout Europe, a total of 16.
While all 16 TSCs are significantly important, the one in Hohenfels holds a slightly different mission. It directly supports the only U.S. Army Combat Training Center in all of Europe, the Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC).
The Hohenfels TSC not only supports the training objectives of home-station units like 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment or the Observer-Coach/Trainers at JMRC; it also supports U.S. and multinational rotational units that come to HTA to train together in exercises like this year's Allied Spirit VIII (AS VII), Jan. 15 to Feb. 5, 2018.
This year's Allied Spirit exercise involves approximately 4,100 participants from 10 different nations, including the U.S. active-Army and Reserve components, to train alongside each other in offensive, defensive and stability operations. But before the trainees and trainers are ready to head out to the "box" to kick off the exercise, they all have to make a stop at the TSC first.
To Cintron, a former field artillery master gunner, the TSC is a one-stop shop that provides an opportunity for U.S. and multinational forces to gain additional training or meet their training requirements, which was the case for all participants in AS VIII.
For example, to ensure safety practices are being implemented while training in the box, Soldiers must use the TSC's HMMWV Egress Assistant Trainer (HEAT). The HEAT increases the Soldier's situational awareness of vehicle rollovers and reinforces important factors like seat positioning, wearing seatbelts, what it's like to feel disoriented during a rollover and what to do in the case of one.
While laughing at his fellow comrades rolling upside down in the HEAT, 1st Lt. Adrian Klos said this type of training was a first for his unit, the Polish Army's 2nd Engineer Battalion (2nd Stargardzki Batalion Saperow), 12th Mechanized Brigade, the lead brigade in AS VII.
U.S. and multinational Soldiers can also learn how to call for fire according to the U.S. Army's standards and practice and refine their marksmanship skills using the TSC's Engagement Skills Trainer.
In addition to providing training opportunities at the facility itself, the TSC also supports the training audience by issuing Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System (MILES) gear, and military vehicles for the units rotating in and out of the CTC, conducting ammunition storage and resupply operations as well building range targets.
"We're here for the Soldiers," said Cintron. "I like being with the Soldiers and this is a way to give back. This is how we can assist you."
Refer to http://www.eur.army.mil/7ATC/TSAE.html for more information about TSAE.
Refer to http://www.eur.army.mil/7ATC/AlliedSpirit.html for more information about Allied Spirit VIII.
