Pacific soldiers jump into training with Indian allies
Army News Service
Release Date: 10/16/2002
by Spc. James-Denton Wyllie
FORT RICHARDSON - The Army's only airborne fighting force in the Pacific region made history earlier this month with an ally from the war on terrorism.
U.S. Army Alaska's 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment welcomed 80 soldiers from the 50th Independent Parachute Brigade of India to exercise Geronimo Thrust Sept. 29-Oct. 10.
It was the first-ever training exchange between the two countries. The units traded lessons and knowledge about their respective airborne operations and each other. Despite their cultural differences, the Geronimos learned there's not much dissimilarity between them and their Southeast Asian counterparts.
"I was talking with a group of them, and it was good to see that they go through some of the same things that we do as soldiers," said Pvt. Robert Linkins, Company A, 1st Bn., 501st PIR. "They want to get promoted, jump out of planes and travel the world just like I do."
It was the first time working with a different country for Spc. Jason Sizemore's, from Company B, 1st Bn., 501st PIR, and it was really exciting for him.
"Part of the reason I joined the Army was to be able to do stuff like this," Sizemore said.
After a late-night landing Sept. 29, the two units began to train the next day with the Indians learning how to put on American parachutes. USARAK Commander Maj. Gen. John Brown stopped by to observe the training.
The two units quickly overcame issues such as the differences in language and equipment. The ability of the Indians to grasp American parachuting concepts comes as no surprise, said Brown.
"In this case, these are trained qualified Indian soldiers from the only active-duty parachute infantry regiment in the Indian army," said Brown. "They are the best that their country has."
After completing the parachute briefs, both regiments went to the jump tower, where the Indian paratroopers conducted basic airborne refresher exercises. The highlight for the Indians was leaping from the tower in a harness and cruising to the ground.
The next day, the American and Indian paratroopers gathered at Elmendorf Air Force Base's Joint Mobility Center to complete a series of day and night jumps.
The exercises of the prior day did much to put the Indians at ease, said Maj. Vikram Chauhan, 50th IPB.
"What we've learned is that we can work together," he said. "I'm sure that we can operate together as well."
Lt. Col. Charlie Glenn, 501st commander, awarded the Indians American jump wings at battalion headquarters after the jump.
"This is a great day for the American and Indian armies; this is hopefully the first of many future operations," he said. "The Indians are a professional group of soldiers with a lot of experience."
The paratroopers entered the next phase of Geronimo Thrust by having joint teams conduct squad and platoon ground attacks. They practiced entering and clearing a hostile building at the shoot house, and shot up various ranges with blank and live ammunition.
The highlight of the ground exercises for Indian paratrooper Suresh Babu was the U.S. weapons familiarization briefing.
"I have wanted to see the American Army's weapons for a long time now," said Babu. "I welcome the opportunity to compare them to ours."
After briefings on weapons such as the M240B machine gun and the 60mm mortar launcher, the Indians got to fire all of them. The sharing went both ways, as 1st Bn., 501st PIR soldiers used the Indian army's AK-47s.
"It was cool to shoot their AKs," said Pfc. David Meyers, Company A, 1st Bn., 501st PIR. "Their weapons are lighter than ours, but carry more of a kick on the recoil."
Besides sharing weapons, the allies traded tactical knowledge.
"They're learning about cold-weather operations and how the American Army conducts mass tactical operations," said Glenn. "The terrain here has let them see how to adapt many of their strategies for jumping and conducting ground operations."
The Indians assisted the Geronimos' knowledge in close-fighting, said Chauhan.
"We have a lot of combat experience in anti-terrorism," Chauhan said. "We have been fighting terrorists for a long time now, and I believe that the U.S. Army learned from some of our techniques in exercises such as the shoot house and trench attacks."
The Americans also learned from the Indians about the airborne operations, said Glenn. "We mostly use static lines, and they usually do free falls," said Glenn. "One thing that we can learn from them is more about high altitude operations. The Indians are used to jumping from higher altitudes than we are, and it has been good to have their input about the way we do things."
Although fighting and jump techniques are important, both officers say the best lesson learned was cooperation.
"This is the first time that we have worked with the U.S. Army like this, and I have found it to be a very enjoyable experience," said Chauhan. "If we ever have to deploy together in a real-world situation, this exercise will have banished many of the problems we might have faced."
Glenn believes the distinction of the visit was as valuable as the knowledge transferred.
"It's a real honor for the 501st to be selected out of the entire Army to be a part of this, and it has paid off in the greater effectiveness that both of our units now feel," he said. "Just knowing that we can all get along and form a cohesive unit is a great step in the right direction."
(Editor's note: Spc. James-Denton Wyllie is a member of the 20th Public Affairs Detachment.)
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