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1st ID hosts training with German partners

By 1st Lt. Gene Hunt
March 28, 2006

SCHWEINFURT, Germany (Army News Service, March 28, 2006.) – U.S. and German Soldiers took advantage of their host-nation partnership to train together at Camp Robertson in Schweinfurt March 20-23.

The 1st Infantry Division’s Headquarters and Headquarters Company hosted its partnership unit, Headquarters Company, 13th Panzergrenadier Division in the event.

The German soldiers qualified on the M16A2 rifle and the M9 pistol, and also trained on the rappel tower.

Soldiers of 1st ID had the chance to earn the coveted Schutzensnur badge, for which they qualified on the MG3 machine gun and the HK USP pistol.

First Sgt. Michel Faulkner, the German company’s senior enlisted soldier, said he enjoyed the opportunity to work with 1st ID Soldiers.

“It’s great to work with Americans and learn how things are done differently,” said Faulkner. “U.S. weapons are very good.”

For Spc. Daniel Jones of HHC, 1st ID, firing the German weapons was a fun challenge.

“Their weapons are a little different,” said Jones. “You need to put a lot more weight behind their machine gun because it has more kick.”

Two countries, one experience

Working with German troops was a unique experience that Jones would like to continue.

“A unit partnership really helps build cohesion between the two nations,” said Jones. “Germany is a different atmosphere. You get to see and experience cultures that you don’t have access to in the States.”

This was the units' first joint training event.

“We wanted to get the experience of working with the Germans,” said Maj. Jose Ocasio-Santiago, the commander of HHC, 1st ID. “A lot of my Soldiers have been deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom so they have not had the opportunity to spend time with the German army.”

Partnerships essential

Maj. Bert Steinman, commander of the German company, said he has enjoyed his time working alongside U.S. Soldiers.

“It’s very good for German and U.S. forces to work together. It’s necessary to cooperate and have good relations, and I’m a little sad about 1st ID leaving,” he said.

Partnerships offer the U.S. military unique training opportunities that contribute much more to service members than just a break from the normal routine. Ocasio-Santiago said he feels that partnerships with other nations are an essential part of soldiering.

“It’s absolutely important to learn how other nations operate. I’ve learned a lot from Maj. Steinman, and we’ve found a lot of similarities between our two units. The first thing our Soldiers must do when they meet a partner, whether in Germany or Iraq, is to understand what they know, what technologies they use, how they use them and how we teach them to use ours.”

(Editor’s note: 1st Lt. Gene Hunt is with the 69th ADA Public Affairs.)