The Steppe Eagle 2013 exercise highlights teamwork among Central Asian, U.S. and European Soldiers
Story and photos by SGT. LAUREN DEVITA/U.S. ARMY CENTRAL
The young Soldiers line up to form a human barricade with metal shields firmly planted on the ground between them and the rioters. On the other side of the shields, the rioters become more rowdy. They pick up plastic bottles and sticks from the ground, which they bang together to make noise.
As the rioters begin to press into the wall of Kazakh and Tajik Soldiers, a Tajik squad leader, maintaining a calm demeanor as instructed by his trainers at the Steppe Eagle exercise, makes a peace offering that defuses the situation without violence.
One of the trainers who had been observing can’t suppress his enthusiasm. “That’s how you do it!” he shouts to the multinational riot squad. The training session ends with a group huddle and congratulatory backslapping.
More than 1,500 personnel from nine countries participated in the 11th annual Steppe Eagle exercise August 5-23, 2013, at the Iliskiy Training Center in Kazakhstan. Hailing from Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Italy, Lithuania, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States, participants focused on peacekeeping and peace-support operations.
During the event, Kazakhstan’s peacekeeping infantry battalion, called KAZBAT, was evaluated by NATO officials with the goal of gaining certification that would ultimately allow it to operate seamlessly with partner nations. The country’s goal is to deploy a full brigade in NATO-led peace operations by 2015, further deepening the relationship between the Central Asian country and NATO under the auspices of the Partnership for Peace (PfP) program.
“Exercise Steppe Eagle 13 was a significant milestone in cooperation between NATO and Kazakhstan within the framework of PfP,” said Kazakh Col. Bardhyl Kollcaku, director of Kazakhstan’s Military Partnership Directorate Coordination and Integration Division. “I was very pleased with the levels of cooperation, enthusiasm and information exchange displayed throughout, underpinning KAZBAT’s capability to conduct peacekeeping operations.”
Each year, the Steppe Eagle exercise consists of battalion and brigade command operations, as well as tactical instruction designed to help Kazakh Soldiers comply with United Nations standards. In line with the multinational peacekeeping focus, training includes defusing riots and maintaining security in camps for displaced people.
Until 2008, elements of KAZBAT served in Iraq to help dispose of unexploded ordinance, supply fresh water and provide medical care for Iraqis.
“I’ve been involved in quite a few of these exercises over the years, and I can honestly say that the Kazakhs have made strides from a tactical level to a Soldier level, all the way up to brigade level,” said Capt. Christopher Kent, one of the mentor/trainers supplied by the U.S. Arizona Army National Guard. “I have watched them take on the world stage in a remarkable way, with great government and societal support as a whole, and open up to other countries and accept transition from Soviet Union to former Soviet Union.”
Steppe Eagle attracts increasing numbers of participants each year, a fact noted by Kyrgyz Maj. Baiysh Kalchaev. “The exercise was aimed at improving the skills of commanders and staffs in the organization of the decision-making and communication between departments during the peacekeeping operation,” Kalchaev said.
The exercise also stresses multinational communication as different countries learn to work together as a unit. To cement relationships even further, exercise organizers stressed the use of the English language for much of their communication.
“It comes down to being able to support one another as a joint team. The more we work together, the less likely someone will want to start a conflict. It will deter that behavior and form stronger partnerships and allies,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Stephan Frennier, the senior enlisted leader for Third Army/U.S. Army Central.
“It’s a win-win and it’s a great opportunity for our Soldiers and leaders to come here and work with the Kazakhstani Army and other nations. They don’t just learn from us — we learn from them, too,” Frennier said. “I commend all our mentors for the hard work put in with our partners to help get them ready for future peacekeeping missions.”
Information from NATO and the Kazakh Ministry of Defense was used in this report.