Exercise Saber Junction 2023 tested the US Army’s 2nd Cavalry Regiment’s ability to work with other Allied countries in the rolling hills of southern Germany.
Synopsis
The US Army’s 2nd Cavalry Regiment (2CR) tested its resilience during exercise Saber Junction 2023, a training drill designed to hone the skills of a Germany-based infantry unit.
More than 4,000 troops from 14 Allied and partner countries gathered at Hohenfels Training Area in southern Germany for the US-led exercise, which ran from 6 to 16 September 2023. During Saber Junction, 2CR operated under the command of the Polish Army’s 11th Armoured Division, giving them crucial experience through the execution of orders passed down by an Allied headquarters. Based in Vilseck, Germany, 2CR is trained to rapidly respond to crises in Europe that might threaten NATO’s security.
The countries that participated in Saber Junction 2023 were: Albania, Armenia, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Georgia, Italy, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Footage includes shots of Bulgarian, French and US troops taking part in the exercise, as well as an interview with a US Army Major.
Transcript
---SHOTLIST— (00:00) VARIOUS SHOTS – SOLDIERS FROM US ARMY’S 2ND CAVALRY REGIMENT MOVING OUT
(00:10) VARIOUS SHOTS – US ARMY SOLDIERS WAITING TO BOARD HELICOPTERS
(00:26) VARIOUS SHOTS – US ARMY SOLDIERS BOARDING HELICOPTERS
(00:30) VARIOUS SLOW-MO SHOTS (MUTE) – US ARMY SOLDIERS BOARDING HELICOPTERS
(00:51) WIDE SHOT – SOLDIERS BOARDING HELICOPTERS
(00:56) VARIOUS SHOTS – HELICOPTERS TAKING OFF
(01:09) SLOW MO SHOT (MUTE) – HELICOPTERS TAKING OFF
(01:17) VARIOUS SHOTS – US SOLDIERS IN SIMULATED FIREFIGHT
(01:53) CLOSE-UP – FRENCH TRICOLOR BADGE ON FRENCH ARMY SOLDIER
(01:57) VARIOUS SHOTS – FRENCH SOLDIER OBSERVING THROUGH BINOCULARS AND SHOUTING ORDERS
(02:06) MEDIUM SHOT – FRENCH SOLIDER IN TURRET OF PANHARD LIGHT ARMOURED VEHICLE
(02:11) VARIOUS SHOTS – FRENCH SOLDIERS FIND TARGET AND FIRE WITH MMP ANTI-TANK MISSILE LAUNCHER GUIDANCE MODULE DURING EXERCISE SCENARIO
(02:17) VARIOUS SHOTS – FRENCH SOLDIERS ON THE MOVE
(02:32) VARIOUS SHOTS – FRENCH PANHARD VEHICLES ON THE MOVE
(02:38) VARIOUS SHOTS – BULGARIAN SOLDIERS MOVING THROUGH FOREST DURING SIMULATED BATTLE
(02:57) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) US Army Major Eric Hurtado, Exercise Control Chief, Joint Multinational Readiness Centre
“Alright, Saber Junction 23 is the incorporation of 2nd Cavalry Regiment with a Polish higher command, that happens to be the 11th Armoured Division over here from Poland, and components of their units underneath them is what comprises the division staff.”
(03:16) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) US Army Major Eric Hurtado, Exercise Control Chief, Joint Multinational Readiness Centre
“So the interoperability piece is what we’re trying to get after. How does a Polish headquarters command and control a US cavalry regiment, with other multinational partners within that regiment as well?”
(03:30) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) US Army Major Eric Hurtado, Exercise Control Chief, Joint Multinational Readiness Centre
“2CR is America’s forward recon element located in Europe. And so if anything was to be activated in a deterrence kind of standpoint, then we would look at 2CR to provide that recon asset, along with other units we rotate through Europe for the rapid action force.”
(03:51) SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) US Army Major Eric Hurtado, Exercise Control Chief, Joint Multinational Readiness Centre
“So exercises like Saber Junction allow us to provide that environment where a US cavalry regiment and a Polish division can have the decision space and understanding between each other, and how that division would answer to a multinational corps, to meet the needs and provide those trained and ready units to defend Europe.”
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