Red Arrow Soldiers Deploy to Ukraine

Red Arrow Soldiers deployed in Ukraine for multinational mission

Operation UNIFIER – mission under the auspices of the Armed Forces of Canada, launched in September 2015, following the request of the Government of Ukraine, aimed to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine, strengthening Ukraine’s sovereignty and security. Operation UNIFIER is a part of Multinational Joint Commission. Great Britain, USA, Canada, Sweden, Poland, Lithuania and Denmark take part in the mission. As of 1 April 2019, more than 11,000 Ukrainian military took part in 257 courses, seminars and trainings. Ukraine MOD

By Cpl. Jared Saathoff

Earlier this month, approximately 160 American Soldiers with the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team headquarters company deployed to Ukraine as Task Force Juvigny and assumed responsibility of the Joint Multinational Training Group – Ukraine at the Combat Training Center – Yavoriv.

TF Juvigny consists of Soldiers from several units across the Wisconsin Army National Guard; each of the Major Subordinate Commands; Joint Force Headquarters and the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team. They were selected for their unique skills and expertise in a variety of disciplines.

“No nation can confront today’s challenges alone,” said Col. John Oakley, Task Force Juvigny’s commander. He added that, “the more capable and interoperable our militaries are, the better positioned we will be as a community to achieve our common goals of security, stability, and peace.”

Task Force Juvigny, along with NATO allies: Canada, Denmark, Finland, Great Britain, Lithuania, and Poland are in Ukraine to aid and support Armed Forces Ukraine’s training abilities along with increasing NATO interoperability with Ukraine.

“Our main goal is NATO interoperability,” said Sgt. 1st Class Brandon McKaig, a company mentor to mortars and artillery, and explained that one of the “challenges has been with equipment interoperability, but our Ukrainian partners overcome this challenge by being very competent and capable.”

“We’ve also been working a lot with our British counterpart and learning from him,” said Sgt. 1st Class Kirsten Schultz, an operations battalion advisor, and stated that “there’s more than one way to skin an apple and I’m learning a lot about how to better plan, or plan different, for missions back home in Wisconsin.”

“My Ukrainian counterpart has been very knowledgeable and competent,” said Cpt. Phil Cluphf, a sustainment and logistics brigade advisor, “and he brings a lot of Ukrainian Army experience in logistics and supply to the training center.”

The JMTG-U mission is part of an ongoing effort to contribute to Ukraine’s long-term military reform and to help improve Ukraine’s internal defense capabilities and training capacity. Task Force Juvigny, along with our NATO allies, works with our Ukrainian partners to advise on the training center, cadre, and institutional level development. 

“I have been blown away by how professional they [Armed Forces of Ukraine] have been,” said McKaig, and added “I’m enjoying my time here; I think the job I am doing here is important and one of the biggest things is just building confidence and rapport with the Ukrainian units.”

“It’s going really well here,” said Schultz about working with Ukrainian military units, and continued, “every day is a learning experience, and each day I’m learning how to be a better advisor.”

“I’m looking for how I can help, and in my experiences thus far the Ukrainians seem grateful for our presence here and welcoming of our suggestions,” said Cluphf.

“We look forward to learning new skills and perspectives,” said Oakley. “We are ready to share our knowledge and training expertise while growing our strategic partnership.”

BACKGROUND 2016:

Joint Multinational Training Command to support Ukraine mission until 2020

By Mrs. Sarah Tate (USAREUR)

The JMTG-U mission is part of ongoing efforts to contribute to Ukraine’s long-term military reform and professionalism and to help improve the country’s internal defense capabilities and training capacity.  

JMTG-U is uniquely built with key players that include the National Guard and active duty Soldiers, U.S. Army civilians, and representatives from Canada, Estonia, Lithuania, and United Kingdom. 

The California National Guard maintains headquarters responsibility, continuing to develop a valued relationship with Ukraine through their 23-year-old State Partnership Program. 

The 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, from Fort Stewart, Georgia is responsible for training the MOD forces for the next six months.

“It gives them the opportunity to work with Ukraine and their Armed Forces and ensure that they receive what they need to become a more capable military,” said JMTG-U Deputy, Adam Loveless. 

The mission will not only test the expeditionary skills of the “CAN DO” battalion, but continue strengthening the relationship between the two armies. 

The Joint Multinational Training Command (JMTC) plays a crucial role in the mission as they help develop a Combat Training Center much like Grafenwoehr Training Area, U.S. Army Europe’s elite training ground.  (Note: Mobilized in support of Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine, the Thunderbirds’ mission is to train the Ukrainian army to NATO standards, develop their noncommissioned officer corps, and help them to establish a combat training center, so that in the future, they can continue to train themselves…1st Lt. Kayla Christopher, 2017)

“This is a partnership with the Ukrainian Army to build a capability here that enables them to train their formations to a better standard than what they do right now, utilizing what we have learned to run combat training centers,” said Loveless.

The line of effort will include JMTC capabilities from the Joint Multinational Simulation Center, Joint Multinational Readiness Center, and Training Support Activity Europe. 

“Right now, we’re doing the initial portions of that in conjunction with Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine in developing the training cadre. As they build that force, we’re working with the 3-15th to build a training cadre to serve as the Observer Coach/Trainers like at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center. JMTC will continue a partnership with the Ukrainian Armed forces to further develop them to a level of NATO interoperable by 2020,” said Loveless.

Plans for capabilities, such as an opposing force modeled after JMRC’s 1-4 Infantry, building infrastructure much like Grafenwoehr’s Training Area, and a range complex to support live fire ranges and maneuver training are also underway for IPSC.  

Loveless says these efforts are not only a necessity for the Ukrainian Army, but are strategically important to Europe.  

“Ukraine is a country that absolutely wants to fight for its own sovereignty here. They’ve asked for our help, they’ve asked for the help of the Allies in NATO and we owe it to them to give them an opportunity to succeed.

(Cpl. Jared Saathoff is the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team public affairs specialist and is currently deployed with Task Force Juvigny in Ukraine. Cpl. Saathoff regularly covers and documents Joint Multinational Training Group – Ukraine activities and training. If you want to know more about JMTG-U follow us on social media @JMTGUkraine @32ndIBCT @7thATC)