U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Rebekah Bell, an aviation planner with V Corps, stands alongside fellow participants of Carpathian Arc in Sibiu, Romania, Oct. 27, 2024. Carpathian Arc is designed to improve interoperability at the staff level and hone lethality among NATO nations.
(Photo Credit: Courtesy)
SIBIU, Romania – Members of V Corps, 1st Cavalry Division, 4th Security Assistance Brigade, and the Alabaman State Partnership Program are currently participating in the Carpathian Arc 24 exercise at Multinational Corps Southeast (MNC-SE) in Sibiu, Romania, taking place between Oct. 21 and Oct. 28. The U.S. Soldiers are operating alongside the French Framework Nation Forward Land Forces brigade and Romanian military personnel with a goal of testing and improving command and control capabilities in a multinational environment.
“Carpathian Arc is a NATO command post exercise hosted by MNC-SE designed to validate its multinational and Romanian division headquarters capabilities to provide combat credible formations in the Black Sea region,” explained Lt. Col. David Gramling, the V Corps deputy intelligence director.
In addition to serving as observers and trainers, U.S. personnel also provide staff augmentation in critical areas requiring subject matter expertise in staff functions, including intelligence, aviation, fires, sustainment, and protection.
“This exercise is critical as it serves as preparation for the NATO combat readiness evaluation to certify a headquarters to operate in large-scale ground combat operations,” said Maj. John Sproul, the Chief of Staff of 1st Cav. Div’s division tactical command. “This is a chance for us all to build partner capability and capacity in a realistic scenario. This helps build relationships and increases proficiency in our trade from both the training and observer perspectives, as well as adds to the overall security posture of the alliance.”
Mentorship and coaching are a primary focus for U.S. personnel during this exercise, as they work to enhance the skills and combat readiness of Allies in a multinational training environment.
“This exercise is important because it presents an opportunity to build rapport and foster relationships while understanding how our NATO partners fight,” said Maj. Jeff Hansen, an advisor with 4th SFAB. “This multinational exercise demonstrates NATO interoperability for all to be stronger, cohesive, and better warfighters.”
The U.S. Army has emphasized the importance of ‘transformation in contact,’ an initiative aimed at utilizing deployments with rotational personnel to test new equipment that could improve the responsiveness of units on a modern battlefield. According to Gramling, V Corps plays an integral part in this initiative alongside its European Allies and partners, and exercises like Carpathian Arc allow Soldiers to test new systems, equipment, and processes in a realistic environment.
“V Corps has a key role to play in how we transform with our European Allies,” said Gramling. “Carpathian Arc is important because it allows V Corps to participate and become more familiar with operational and tactical level processes and procedures that contribute to shared understanding between our Corps and MNC-SE,” said Gramling. “It also facilitates future training opportunities between our NATO warfighting formations, making us both more interoperable and lethal.”
As the exercise continues, U.S. Soldiers and Allies will continue to identify gaps and areas for improvement as they prepare for future multinational training exercises, including Defender Europe 25.