Joint Training Between the US & India
This is interesting:
Speaking through the translator, the commander assures the sheik that everything possible is being done to improve the situation and he and his men will treat him with the utmost respect.
This situation could take place in any number of towns in Iraq or Afghanistan today. The only difference here is that the temperature is hovering near freezing, a far cry from the stifling heat typical of many parts of the Mideast.
This is counterinsurgency training for the 1st Stryker Brigade, 25th Infantry Division stationed at Fort Wainwright. From Sept. 10, and continuing through today, more than 600 Strykers are participating in training exercises with 100 members of the Indian Army at the Donnelly Training Area near Fort Greely. [Fairbanks Daily News-Miner] [Via: Soldier’s Dad]
It is good to see the increasing interaction with the Indian military. India is the world’s largest democracy, has an enormous and well trained military of 1.3 million active duty soldiers, and it’s own Islamic extremist threats. Considering this, it only seems natural that our two countries would begin to gravitate towards one another.
I found the comments of the commander of the Indian contingent interesting:
Military officials touted the training as a rare opportunity for India and the United States to share tactics in dealing with the global war on terror. Indian Col. Birender Singh Dalal said the training allowed his men to learn more about the United States’ mobility and firepower, but there are few differences between them.
“All militaries in the world think alike,” he said. “We are 90 percent similar.”
Some members of the 1-25th will be going to India in the next few weeks to train in counterinsurgency exercises there.
I think he should add that well trained militaries in the world think alike because I have seen some militaries that think nothing like what we in the US would consider a competent military force. I have never worked with the Indian Army before but from everything I hear and read they are a well trained and disciplined force that I hope I get a chance to work with in the future.
