Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington – The “Yudh Abhyas 2015” India-US military exercise to strengthen and broaden inter-operability and cooperation between the two armies was slated to conclude on Wednesday (September 23).
Indian soldiers with widespread experience in the Himalayas and as United Nations Peace Keepers joined their US army counterparts for the annual bilateral exercise between the US Army Pacific and India at the Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) in the Washington state. This is the first time the Yudh Abhyas (Training for War), a theatre security cooperation exercise, in its 11th year, is held at JBLM.
The Pentagon Spokesman confirmed to India America Today, “The Indian and US Armies are participating in exercise Yudh Abhyas 2015 from Sept. 9-23 at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington.”
“This US Army Pacific-sponsored exercise involves about 150 Indian Army Soldiers and 150 Active US Army and 20 National Guard Soldiers,” the spokesman noted, adding, “Training includes expert exchanges and professional development workshops focusing on combat against conventional, unconventional and hybrid threats; amphibious operations; and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief with a focus on the Nepal earthquake response.”
“With our allies and partners we are able to prevent, mitigate and respond to crisis in order to assure security,” said Brig. Gen. Robert Ulses, deputy commanding general of support, 7th Infantry Division. “This bilateral exercise reinforces our commitment to the Indo-Asia-Pacific region and improves the interoperability between our two Armies. It builds upon our enduring partnership and cultivates trust.”
Lt. Gen. Stephen R. Lanza, commanding general, I Corps, spoke of the importance of the training and how grateful he was for the opportunity to host the event.
“Having the Indian army come to the United States is actually indicative not to the rebalance but more about our partnership in the Pacific, about regional security, building capacity and about theater security cooperation,” said Lanza. “Training with the Indian Army here is an added benefit where our two forces will come together. We will learn from each other in this process. We will be better trained and more ready and the Yudh Abhyas name of this exercise is exactly the direction we should be going in.”
Indian Army Brig. Gen. Guljeet Singh Jamwal who is serving as the overall mission commander for the Yudh Abhyas exercise said, “I’m sure this exercise for all of us will be an excellent opportunity to learn from each other,” adding, “The complete Indian contingent was looking forward to this interaction to benefit from vast and ready experience of the US Army and take away some of (its) best practices.”
During the exercise, the US and Indian Armies were conducting a staff exercise, train with the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, 7th Infantry Division and also used the opportunity to visit some cultural sites in Washington. From the US side, the 7th Infantry Division, I Corps while the 6th Battalion of the Kumaon Regiment, Indian Army were participating.
“A brigade-level command post exercise (CPX) will focus on UN Peace Keeping Operations staff tasks in a combined brigade setting. A field training exercise (FTX) will involve platoon-strength elements from each nation exercising combined, fundamental war-fighting skills to enhance combined operational capacity,” concluded the Pentagon Spokesman.