Military Shelters from Alaska Defense used in Saber Strike 2017 Exercise

This month, 20 NATO nations joined forces to participate in the “Saber Strike 2017” training exercise organized by U.S. Army Europe (USAREUR). The month-long exercise is an annual event designed to help facilitate cooperation between the U.S., Allied and Partner nations including Croatia, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, and Lithuania, as well as to deter aggression throughout Europe. This year’s Saber Strike training exercise was comprised of 11,000 troops – the largest in Saber Strike’s history.

In addition to increasing joint operational capability, interoperability and readiness, and familiarization to support a variety of land, sea and air missions, one of the main objectives of the military exercise is to establish a NATO Enhanced Forward Presence (abbreviated eFP) with NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence Battle Groups.

Twelve Alaska Defense military shelters, complete with 5-ton ECU (environmental control units), were used to establish a military camp aptly named “Peter Herceg Tomich” after a U.S. national hero of Croatian origin, to support military training activities conducted by the Multinational Support Battalion, which consisted of the U.S. Army, the armed forces of the Republic of Croatia, and the Norwegian Armed Forces.

This year’s Saber Strike exercise spanned multiple locations throughout Poland and the Baltic region, including Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. A brief overview of the key military training events includes:

• A two-day multinational convoy of personnel and equipment with the Enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group Poland from Orzysc, Poland, to Rukla, Lithuania. The goal of the exercise was to train and execute a forward passage of lines across the Suwalki Gap, a land connection between Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
• A two-day combined forces ground assault which transitioned into a medical evacuation exercise with mock injured soldiers carried out by the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, Minnesota National Guardsmen, United Kingdom’s British Royal Marines, and Polish and Lithuanian Army Soldiers in Sventezeris, Lithuania.
• A Marine amphibious assault and maritime prepositioned offload of pre-staged supplies and equipment in Latvia.
• Two combined arms live fire exercises in Poland and Lithuania.
• An air assault by the British Royal Marines and river crossing at the Polish and Lithuanian border.

The participating nations in the Saber Strike exercise included the United States, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, and Slovakia.

More information about Alaska Defense, our military shelters and military camps, capabilities and services, is available on our website or by submitting an inquiry using our online form. For immediate response, please call +1-575-541-9116.