From November 20 to 22 military personnel of the command staff of the Mechanised Infantry Brigade (MIB) "Iron Wolf" and its subordinate units attend Red Knight international command post exercise organised by the Danish Division staff in the town of Paldinski, Estonia. The exercise will put to test operational planning abilities of Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian and Danish brigades' staffs in composition of a multilateral division.
"The main focus in the training will be placed on offensive operations which gives us an excellent opportunity to test our operational planning abilities in this area in composition of a superior unit. In joint training with international partners we are able to acquire valuable knowledge and share our experience in operational planning, which is doubtlessly enhancing our professionalism," Commander of the MIB "Iron Wolf" Colonel Valdemaras Rupšys commented on the exercise in progress.
Command post exercise involving Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian and Danish brigades' staffs is aimed at training and evaluating the abilities of offensive operational planning in line with the available NATO standards. Approximately 40 servicemembers of the MIB "Iron Wolf" command staff conduct offensive operational planning in composition of a multinational division according to an exercise scenario generated by exercise directing staff: draft a brigade-level operational plan through implementing military decision making procedures and finding the optimal solutions with regard to the tasks.
Red Knight is a part of a series of exercises organised on the basis of the combat training plan of the Danish Division. An international training event in Denmark, Yellow Knight, next spring will employ the Joint Conflict and Tactical Simulation (JCATS) system to trial the efficiency of the operational plans produced. Command staff of the MIB "Iron Wolf" together with the staffs of the brigades affiliated to the Danish Division have been participating in similar multinational events for several years. This April command post exercise Red Knight focusing on defensive operational planning was held in Riga, capital of Latvia.
The MIB "Iron Wolf" was affiliated to the Danish Division in 2006 by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) endorsed by the Lithuanian and Danish Chiefs of Defence. The document covered the opportunity of collective work of Lithuanian and Danish officers in multinational staffs, joint training events and exercises. It was also designed to ensure interoperability of Lithuanian and Danish military units in a spectrum of multinational operations.
PAO for the MIB "Iron Wolf" Capt Ainaras Jonaitis. Cell phone no. 00370 699 36 793; email ainaras.jonaitis@gmail.com;
Photos by: Capt Ainaras Jonaitis
