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http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=9433 Monday, July 15, 2002 Airborne unit jumps into exercise By Kent Harris, Stars and Stripes European edition, Saturday, July 13, 2002 -During the next several weeks, most of U.S. Army Europe�s major elements will participate in some fashion. Units from the 1st Infantry Division are already on the ground in Kosovo, serving their rotation in charge of the U.S. sector. Six of the division�s Apache helicopters are in the province, flying in last week. Assets from the 1st Armored Division will eventually join the exercise. So will elements of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit and small British and German contingents. -�We�re going to hit hard, because we always hit hard,� Petit said a few minutes before the jump commenced. [Soldiers from Company C, 1st Battalion of the 508th Airborne Infantry Regiment jump from C-130 aircraft into Kosovo on Thursday as part of Rapid Guardian, an exercise demonstrating NATO's ability to get troops into Kosovo quickly.] It doesn�t get much hotter in Kosovo than it did Thursday. Only a few fluffy white clouds occasionally blocked the sun. Yet a little after lunchtime, it started to rain Sky Soldiers near the city of Vitina. �Every day is a great day for jumping,� said Maj. Kevin Petit, operations officer for the Southern European Task Force (Airborne) and the man running the show on the ground. Those words are essentially the mantra for an airborne soldier in the 173rd Airborne Brigade. About 200 soldiers, mostly from Company C of the 1st Battalion, 508th Infantry Regiment, parachuted from their C-130 transport planes onto cornfields or patches of weeds. It was the first phase of Rapid Guardian, an exercise to test the ability of the Kosovo Force�s rapid-reaction troops. During the next several weeks, most of U.S. Army Europe�s major elements will participate in some fashion. Units from the 1st Infantry Division are already on the ground in Kosovo, serving their rotation in charge of the U.S. sector. Six of the division�s Apache helicopters are in the province, flying in last week. Assets from the 1st Armored Division will eventually join the exercise. So will elements of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit and small British and German contingents. But Thursday, it was the airborne soldiers� time in the (hot) sun. The Vicenza, Italy-based soldiers boarded five C-130s from the 86th Airlift Wing from Ramstein, Germany, at Aviano Air Base in Italy. A few hours later, they were dropping from the skies over Kosovo. �We�re going to hit hard, because we always hit hard,� Petit said a few minutes before the jump commenced. Col. Bill Mayville, who took command of the brigade on June 20, made his first jump as its top soldier. �It was really an impressive operation,� he said, seconds after answering questions from the local media. �I am impressed with the professionalism, thoroughness and readiness that exists in this brigade. We are ready for the call.� Margret Menzies, a SETAF spokeswoman in Vicenza, said Friday there were only three minor injuries sustained by the jumpers. Capt. Braden LeMaster had led 48 soldiers from Lt. Col. Butch Botters� 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment to secure the jump site hours earlier with the help of the Apaches. The helicopters hovered until a few minutes before the jump, then flew away, returning only after the last soldier had touched the ground. After the C-130s left the skies, F-16s from Aviano made several passes. French Lt. Gen. Marcel M. Valentin, the KFOR commander, was on the ground alongside Brig. Gen. Douglas E. Lute, the top U.S. commander in Kosovo, to watch the jump. He said the exercise has been �planned for a long time� and was not in response to any events in Kosovo. �As you know, nobody�s perfect and you can always improve procedures and training,� he said. The SETAF contingent is now doing that on the ground. It is scheduled to deploy in areas currently patrolled by Polish and Lithuanian troops. �We�re going to take advantage of the opportunity to train with some of the partner countries that are here,� Mayville said. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Autos - Get free new car price quotes http://autos.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bacIlu Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
