Despite foot-and-mouth
crisis,
Warfighter exercise will go onBy Rick Emert
Stars and Stripes
The massive
Warfighter exercise, involving troops from both the 1st Infantry and 1st Armored
Divisions, will take place as planned despite training restrictions in Germany resulting
from an emergency order by the German Ministry of Defense.
The order,
issued March 16, placed restrictions on training for servicemembers in U.S. Army Europe
and U.S. Air Forces in Europe in an effort to prevent an outbreak of the highly contagious
foot-and-mouth disease in Germany.
However,
further information received from the ministry on Tuesday will permit the Warfighter
exercise, scheduled to begin April 1 at the Grafenwöhr Training Area, to proceed.
"Warfighter
will be conducted based on two points," said Millie Waters, a USAREUR spokesperson.
"[USAREUR]
did a survey of the training area and found there is sufficient space to accommodate all
of the exercise participants on hard surfaces in the training area, and [the Ministry of
Defense] granted rail and road [authorization] for the units to deploy and redeploy."
However,
that exception applies only to units taking part in the exercise, Waters said.
The
Warfighter exercise is one of the Army’s largest. This year marks the first time both
the 1st ID and 1st AD will participate in the exercise simultaneously.
Warfighter
consists of computer simulations of troop movements and battle strategy.
It requires
personnel to assemble tent operation centers filled with computers and communication
equipment all linked together throughout the training area. All together, more than 7,000
troops will participate.
The
exercise will be overseen by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric K. Shinseki, Waters said.
The
ministry’s additional information brought more good news for USAREUR.
It said
that units permanently assigned to installations with adjacent or contiguous training
areas can still train in those areas, Waters said.
"As
long as the units don’t have to drive [off the installation] on roads to get there,
they can train in the local training area," she said.
According
to Waters, a USAREUR message sent to units throughout Germany on Saturday said training in
built-up areas on U.S military installations could continue, as could the following:
Contingency
training for troops preparing to support peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina
and in Kosovo.
Small
weapons qualification at local ranges on installations.
Training
at simulation facilities.
Training
conducted outside of Germany.
Search
and rescue flights.
Training
for USAFE troops will see fewer restrictions since much of their training takes place in
the air, said Capt. Aaron Burgstein, a USAFE spokesman.
However,
training in drop zones, except for dry runs or simulations, has been halted. Helicopter
landings are limited to pre-approved areas, like concrete pads or runways. And bomb range
training, which requires people on the ground to grade the drop, has been halted.
In
addition, outdoor training, such as that conducted by security forces, is being evaluated.
Such training hasn’t been canceled, but may be postponed.
In the
United Kingdom, where most of the cases of foot-and-mouth disease have been found, USAFE
training faces further limitations, according to Burgstein.
They
include restrictions on low-level flying over dairy areas.
The effect
the training limitations will have on readiness of the troops in Europe is unclear.
"It’s
just too early to tell," Waters said.
Perhaps
hardest hit by the restrictions will be 7th Army Training Command areas at Hohenfels and
Grafenwöhr.
The
installations host U.S. military units for many types of training year-round as well as
many international units, including a Germany-based British unit that arrived at
Grafenwöhr on Wednesday for tank simulator training, Waters said.
Although
the ministry’s additional guidance said exercises could continue for units currently
training at Grafenwöhr Training Area and Hohenfels’ Combat Maneuver Training Center,
the 7th ATC had already begun to comply with the emergency order.
The 7th ATC
ceased all training outside of the installations and, initially, limited troop movement in
the training area to paved roads wherever possible, said Capt. Jeff Settle, the 7th ATC
public affairs officer.
That
limitation was lifted for units currently training at Grafenwöhr and Hohenfels, but no
new units can rotate through the training area until the ministry’s restriction is
lifted, Settle said.
However,
individual readiness training, which is required for all soldiers and Department of the
Army civilians who will serve in the Balkans, will continue, he said.
Currently,
there are no plans to inspect the training areas for the presence of foot-and-mouth
disease, but USAREUR will work with host nation officials in the matter, Waters said.
According
to Dr. Werner Hornung, a veterinarian with the Federal State Veterinarian Office in
Bamberg, there are no known cases of foot-and-mouth disease in Germany.
USAREUR
officials cannot speculate on how long the restriction will last, but it will continue at
least until Wednesday, the date mentioned in the USAREUR message, Waters said.
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