and i am century battalion stationed in nearby bad cell phones. today. young recruits are taking their oath. the battalion will be honored for its past appointments, abroad in summer, another one awaits the soldiers. this time in lithuania, the stitch brought me the into tell the members of this battalion are very aware of just how important the deployment in lithuania is of freedom and peace in the alliance area in the baltic region. in other words, where a direct confrontation with russia seem is conceivable, gone, that's cut off with the money to buy the in summer 2020 for some $150.00 of them will be deployed to lithuania. for 6 months. they will be part of the nato enhanced forward presence battle group program. and even if we have one in the box and people involved the group was created following rushes, annexation of ukrainian crimea.

the f. b consists of 4 multi national battalions with over $1000.00 soldiers each stationed in the nato, states of estonia, lexia, lithuania, and poland. their personnel are rotated every 6 months. these combat troops are intended to strengthen the 4 host countries militarily and deter russia from attacking. each battalion is led by one nation's army. the nation in charge of the lithuanian mission is germany. the f. p battalion in lithuania, currently consists of around 1700 surface men and women about 850 of whom have been sent by the german armed forces. while the others come from the netherlands, norway belgium, the czech republic, lexia, and luxembourg. so the grunted years from bad zeltzin and already were in lithuania 4 years ago with their aging murder, infantry vehicles. the

a few days later were back in syringe. here in the cooper boys, there mountains were a platoon from the 300 and 93rd pens or battalion from bad franklin housing is setting up a screening post. part of it, boston is either a screening post. simply allows for advanced division for tonight, some 3 kilometers ahead of your own forces act. so this reconnaissance gives the actual line more time to react. they get the same. the task on the front line consists of spotting and delaying the enemy until your forces have gathered at the nato level. this is also how you could describe the role of the north, the range you a battalion in 2023. with around 30 battle tanks, it belongs to nato's very high reading. this joint task force, the v j t f v j t. f was set up in 2014, in response to russia's annexation of crime in the year before. it consists of a round $10000.00 soldiers and is the spearhead of the nato response force. and r.

s, which has 40000 troops in total. the troops for nato's v g t. f and n r s are provided by different nato partners for up to 3 years at a time. countries take turns commanding the forces deployment time to any location within the alliance area must be 2 to 7 days. it's mostly land forces, but some air force and navy to the, in the event of an attack on nato territory. it must be the 1st to confront the aggressor together with the army of the needle country under attack. they should hold off the aggressor until the alliance has brought in more troops. the last year, the syringe and battalion received new tanks far as operations delivered to a 70. 1 of the tank commanders is master sergeant. josh. how does he see his units mission as part of the nato response force and the height and threat after

russia's attack on ukraine? also understood by 12 by that of course, we've already prepared our equipment so that we can keep our reaction time short. if we have to deploy it apart from that, we try not to make ourselves nervous about it. the only place where i notice it a bit more is in my private life. i'm enjoying my free time more and not just taking it for granted. i, since i know in the back of my mind that things couldn't escalate any time. a thing comes in eastern europe, a war is raging, keeping it away from nato borders. is another objective of the armored troops from syringe you just give over and that through the state of coal square following the wall in ukraine very closely. and with great concern i think, you know, for me will, is something horrible. it came, stood when i see the fighting going on, that is what the russian troops are doing or for game and what it means for the civilian population system. i find it very,

very frightening. that's what i have to state that clearly, and we're ready to prevent something like that from happening on the territory of any of our nato allies. if it's possible to say and cut the arm, or troops from bad front and housing. the grant of 2 years from bad zeltzin and, and their comrades from the 37th pennsburg grant of deer brigade are facing a challenging few months. it's spring and 2023. at the old mark training area in the german state of saxony. unhealthy 1st lieutenant jordan and his men from the 390. first pens are granted. dear battalion are moving to an outpost in the concrete system. i mean it's all we're acting as a security platoon. think it was my mission with the me is a bit different from my usual mission on the german army project. here we're providing security for the command code as well as the deficiencies. you will, blocking entrances, securing buildings and calming, worried villagers. these are the top so the security platoon, all the while keeping an eye on the enemy. before long the security platoon

receives reinforcements. they position themselves in the nearby forest, defend off a possible attack by enemy paratroopers. major johan is works in the battle groups command post. he's a member of the granted 2 years from bad. zeltzin german, dutch and belgian soldiers worked side by side around the clock here. each must keep their own commanders update as the officer from the ring. g. a says all nato partners involved are aware of the ball, a tile nature of their upcoming deployment. in lithuania, very close to russia, and it's ally feller roost. i helped us get through. yes, i think we have a high level of professionalism here. mind that everyone has a common mindset little soldiers and it's, you know, we've done little emissions abroad and like enough kind of stop basic training laws and national defense committed. that's the case with all countries. and everyone is professional and fully prepared emission. meanwhile,

a practice operation to delay the enemy is happening just a few kilometers from the command post. the granite dears are now slowly retreating, their planting mine fields. if a vehicle drives over the wire, a projectile is triggered and flies into the target barrier. one of 3 is closed, working on the 2nd, and that's what the mines are meant to by time to rally for a counter attack. the whether defending or attacking german soldiers must be able to fight without a weapon. we catch up with master searching. josh, the tank commander from bad front and housing at a close combat course that the infantry school in hamelburg. but why does a tank soldier need to be able to fight by hand? there's also a head for this,

a good. they never have to leave the time because that means something will have gone wrong, but the ability to engage in close combat is important for also just because you weren't always be sitting inside your time. thanks the course is intended to teach participants how to hold their own in close combat and train other soldiers how to do so. if i want to reach under the weapon, grab the shoulder rest, just like i did to my turn, the weapon 180 degrees, then use it to punch either to the face or neck of the enemy and stalls. hold on slot, and fight for fitness. get ready on the cross of the training is meant to push soldiers to their limits quicker. scroll through the forest and take the trip down the road. oh josh, stand up for folks $1.00 to $1.00 step on it again. come on. oh god. that's right. through the woods and stay together, i'll pick up the place guys, get on with it. and keep fighting. come on now. all

of it pulled up and set up solutions. stone and to me so i think keep it up and keep it on the cloud. so and then be neutralized to something. we'll take the pistol was what was the website sold today for the enemy does a neutralize to a model, they only get up here the the goal is on the head. as it is, the next station simulates combat against several people. the goal is to apply the technique, but it's important to stay in the container for one minute. the

cost of them and getting the same is sitting in the tank when you're fighting and come, it's uncomfortable and then come in here. you just notice it more in your own body . when you have to fight is a couple. and dave, off for attackers who was on the cell, but we managed in the end and we don't know. so we've successfully completed this part of the training, the officer, and we'll have to catch up with the granite dears and beds old thing and also continue their training through the spring and summer major johonson his unit prepare for nuclear biological and chemical warfare. the soldiers donna full protection kits. they train in a closed room with irritant gas. in addition to the physical strain, the soldiers have to deal with the mental pressure. the goal is to show the menu that care works as a mosque fitness at your mouth. take it with you, then take good care of it, then you'll be well equipped. meanwhile

1st lieutenant jordan is on the firing range as of the facilities, the ones that see so the pistol is basically our 2nd with an in money is in other words, if my g 36 jams or i find myself in close quarters or an urban come back into the p e is a better choice than the big, bulky rifle for collect some closer fairly develop the granted years have gotten some new equipment, assign things are changing in the wake of the ukraine war, the lease on the old ones. um, what was the 3rd starting from the top? we think this is our combat town that we have. here's the very latest version like so. i think it has the same level of protection as the old version. but here i have the option of wearing my pelt. here's my hearing protection underneath that, the ones on the cotton con, despite its going by 20 our mobile whole direct fire up to 762 seems like a some body armor will also snow traffic off of advice policy for your shopping to

load on. nobody's defense. this is all new equipment let's we've had it since last year and we're very happy with it. the embed front and housing precision is needed for master sergeant josh and his comrades. next task. they are loading tanks for transportation. they're destined for the italian island of sardinia, where the nato v j t. f. troops are meeting for an exercise. the it's early may 2023, and the v. j t f. troops have set up camp in the south of the island. over 2000 soldiers from germany, norway, the netherlands, belgium, the czech republic, lexia and luxembourg are participating in the nato exercise. no bull jump. do you want me to send them full as compliant?

we'll just go to the ultimate goal and the exercise has been planned. well, in advance of your costs, it's important to select the areas and to rang that a more challenging in terms of geography and climate. places that require deployment from c i o 4. and that's why this exercise planned long before pollutants invasion of ukraine takes place. and so didn't yet it will, but in principle it could be almost any way. contests of the closet well as on the tank company from bad frank, the housing has taken part in several training sessions in the last few days, the commander braced his troops. the position of anointed trench barrier target his troops have been put to the test here in sardinia. good bye. it's been found very happy with the boys and girls. i saw them just at the terrain is giving us a bit of a hard time and that's on the material. but the point is to prepare for any situation for the nice, not just the training grounds, determine what fits the budget. as things wind down in the camp,

josh goes for his usual evening run, fully equipped, it's his own initiative and a part of his preparation for upcoming commando training and hamelburg. 2 days later, it's time for the big exercise. the show, a force is intended to demonstrate the full range of the alliances combat power. apart from military personnel, journalists from all over the world have come. the scenario is this. the enemy forces landed on the island. nato is v j t. f. troops are alerted. dutch armored infantrymen are the 1st to move in. their task is to hold the enemy at bay until their own troops arrive. they receive back up from norwegian, snipers and artillery, nor region mechanized infantry fall those in their armored personnel carriers. next the norwegian and german leper tanks to engage the enemy the

the ground troops receive air support from tiger attack. helicopters the, the battle lasts about an hour the time it takes to repel the enemy of today's demonstration. the generals are pleased, including the head of the regional nato headquarters in naples sizes. well, it's a clear message to any potential adversary about the strength of the nato alliance . and again, i stress defense of alliance with a 360 degree view of any threat that may arise. but it is meant to be a strong signal to any potential adversary. it's the end of june 2023 in florida. huda in the 3rd engine forest civilians doing

to bid farewell to the soldiers who will soon be heading to lithuania to join the forces. the unit is prepared for the 6 month deployment. the commander makes clear the missions important to the fatigue as you log into tones to dish. the dish of teams lava cleaning caught up the strategic position of lithuania is of course also very critical due to the enclave of leading crowd on the one hand. and by the routes on the other good. as a result, we are very aware that the baltic states, including with a way to deal with the threat from russia much more strongly than we do. we finish the echo and say i stuff that once enough, the fall is to in the beginning of august, around 150 granted years will be heading to the baltic states. today they are presented with some keepsakes a few weeks after the exercise in sardinia, the tank troops from bad franklin housing are back to training this time in saxony

. more firing practice for commander josh and his comrades. a leopard 2 can carry almost 40 grenades. today they are firing training grenades with a concrete head. the platoons fires separately for tanks at a time. and tier 2, just as in sardinia, it's all about the defense. yeah, success with young 5 who's going to is the 1st attacking forces are worn down by us in what we call a delaying operation. in other words, we slow down the enemy's attack. and the 2 weeks they've been in saxony, the tankers have fired countless shells of live ammunition the local district administrator pays a visit to the troops. she is joined by the mayor of bad franklin, housing, and other politicians. they are allowed to watch the firing and taken some

interesting facts about tank shells. yes, besides the sort of, this is the 2nd type. it's not quite as heavy. then you can also fire the munitions to really designate some impact to the target and causes the damage or the, or you can, for example, mp, find the munitions set to so that it designates what the delay. well, this is unique to the seventy's and 1000 can fall firing around from a main battle tank is also part of the program for the visitors. of course, it's also a bit cramped at 1st. from the outside the tank look so big, that's fine. but once you're inside, you realize that everything has been planned down to the last centimeter. yes, exactly. everything has its place. well, congratulations. thank you. for the commander such visits are a chance to network with politicians. really isn't my good, but it's certainly always good when quotations have direct insight

a new are the troops work and what they're talking about. so you could see is a bit of low b and go be up i even though this is regional, what do you think that also has an impact at the state and federal level? the district administrator tells us that she also sees or visit us recognition and appreciation for the soldiers and what they are prepared to do for the community. in brooklyn, lithuania, the grant of 2 years from fed zeltzin, and have arrived for their deployment on nato's eastern flank. they are preparing for a nighttime exercise. a field post is being set up. the platoon leader inspects his troops. this is a lookout and position. my intention is if, if it's a pitch back here, i don't want to be fumbling around in the dogs that move closer to the edge of the forest so that i can react as quickly as possible. if an enemy up us, their mission is to keep watch and send off all enemies. in nato exercises the enemy is usually played by friendly troops. but here in the baltic,

there is little doubt as to where the real enemy threat is. the nato, if the battle group is stationed in request, a town in south eastern lithuania, the location is of strategic importance. close to this to fall key gap. what nato calls the 100 kilometer long border between lithuania and poland. a needle fears that russian troops could invade lithuania with soldiers from the colon and grad region, and bella roost. cutting off the 3, both the countries from the rest of the nato alliance. this scenario is not at all unrealistic. in february 2022 russian troops invaded ukraine from bella. ruth platoon leader jordan has finished his patrol. he gives his squad leaders some final instructions. it's going to be

a long night to provide some for the next day at the barracks and root clock. jordan and his platoon are preparing for yet another exercise near the beller roost border. last night was a success of the art the done. we had our 1st and then we contacted midnight to detect the enemy's scouting party and immediately captured into the front of them at the command post of the multinational battle group, we made major johannes again. today he is here as an instructor, shadowing a belgian infantry company counter attacking the enemy and assessing their performance of almost gonna be that why are we doing that? just because it hits a try and defense of caution about. so you have a defensive and tax connectivity. opponents of any defense. the highest means that if i stop the enemy in front of my mind, valerie or some point of it, and i don't want to leave in this. and this is perhaps also

a last night that can be learned from ukraine. what was the goal of a host of beats? went back to the territory mindset for defeat the enemy with a on success lock. the exercises also being followed by generals and officers from belgium, loads all the things you need to do off of the fight to get out of the deal to say . the belgian company advances slowly, but soon comes under and re fire the bill. like let me do so will there and then again, all of them. okay. the, the enemy wanted to prevent the blue forces from attacking with vehicles along this path because but, so that's why they look best road minds made. now of course on this mine field must 1st be secured by our own forces because we had and then using high and then is have to be deployed to and to clear the why you for the vehicles to follow along

the road. we can get along as well. so the battle lasts more than 2 hours afterwards. major, your highness, evaluate the exercise with the belgian company commanders, and think the enemy actors from lithuania for their effort. when i say 2 days later, the syringe, you and pens are granted years and the rest of the, the battle group move to pop, brought a close to the board or with bella roost over the next 2 weeks. they'll be practicing defense exercises with a list of weight in army. it's now mid october 2023, and nato is v j t. f. troops are practicing live firing in the luna burger high to in lower saxony . today in full battle formation, with almost 30 lever to main battle tanks from bad front and housing, and 14 puma, infantry fighting vehicles from bavaria. the armor troops from bad,

frank and housing will soon have a break from being on alert with the v. j t. f. but the tension will remain division commander fund. butler follows the exercise closely at the beginning of the year, he was greatly concerned about the war and ukraine. how does he feel? now, as i asked my goal festival, we assume that it when spread any further to the west, if you the, and we can also see very clearly how the ukrainian soldiers sought defending themselves very successfully. what i think the troops we sold today, kind of hold their own against any opponent doing. i met on the other hand, i hope it will never comes to that to me on the,

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