U.S. Army’s Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 34th Armored Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, have conducted rapid-deployment exercise at Camp Karliki, Poland.
A statement from the 358th Public Affairs Detachment says that Soldiers took part in an Initial Ready Task Force (IRTF) exercise, that started at Drawsko Pomorskie Training Area, Poland and ended at Karliki, Poland, June 17, 2019.
“IRTF’s are important to validate what our company can do and what we are capable of accomplishing,” said 1st Sgt. Robert M. McCorkendale, C. Co. 2-34. “Our rapid movement is a real world example that shows what it really means to be ready.”
An IRTF is a no-notice, rapid-deployment exercise designed to test a unit’s ability to alert, marshal, and deploy forces and equipment for contingency operations or an emergency disaster.
“Projecting combat power and showcasing our unit’s capability to move quickly, and on short notice demonstrates our effectiveness,” said Capt. Ryan P. Crayne, C. Co. 2-34. “It’s all about proving what we say we can do.”
Atlantic Resolve provides ready, combat-credible forces through multinational training and security cooperation activities.
“Being able to get to the fight in the first place, is just as important as our ability to move, shoot, and communicate once we actually find ourselves in a fight,” said Capt. Crayne. “We take pride in our vehicles, and our focus on maintenance has lasting effects that help us accomplish our mission.”
The Dreadnaughts are part of more than 6,000 U.S. regionally-allocated Soldiers in Germany, Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania, on a nine-month rotation, in support of Atlantic Resolve.
“From a training standpoint, having our Soldiers work through this IRTF impresses the realism of this training upon them,” said 1st Sgt. McCorkendale.