{"id":297495,"date":"2024-10-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-10T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=297495"},"modified":"2024-10-10T19:38:19","modified_gmt":"2024-10-10T19:38:19","slug":"maryland-national-guard-trains-estonians-during-exercise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=297495","title":{"rendered":"Maryland National Guard Trains Estonians During Exercise"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Maryland Army National Guard Sgt. Conner McClaskey, an infantryman with the 1-175th Infantry Regiment, speaks with a member of the Estonian Defense League during training exercise USSISONAD24 Sept. 8, 2024, at Sirgala live-fire range in Sirgala, Estonia. The joint exercise was planned and executed through the National Guard\u2019s State Partnership Program, supporting U.S. European Command\u2019s mission. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Danyelle
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J\u00d5HVI, Estonia – Twelve Soldiers from the Maryland Army National Guard\u2019s 1st Battalion, 175th Infantry Regiment, supported the Estonian Defense League during a squad live-fire exercise Sept. 7-8 at the Sirgala Training Area near the Russian border.<\/p>\n

The mutually beneficial Exercise Ussisonad 24 was part of the Department of Defense National Guard Bureau\u00a0State Partnership Program. Maryland and Estonia have been partners in the program since its inception in 1993.<\/p>\n

During the two-day training exercise, the MDARNG Soldiers provided train-the-trainer guidance for executing squad-level live-fire exercises to strengthen interoperability between U.S. and Estonian forces. Approximately 600 EDL section leaders and personnel participated, rotating through training lanes that included practice and live-fire phases.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe EDL has performed far beyond what we expected,\u201d said Maryland Army National Guard Sgt. Conner McClaskey, an infantryman with the 1-175th Infantry Regiment. \u201cThe way they\u2019re able to shoot, move and communicate is incredible \u2014 especially considering they\u2019re not paid for it. They do it because, if called upon, they want to stand up for their country. I respect that more than anything in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

The exercise commenced with the dry-fire phase, allowing participants to rehearse squad movement and actions under simulated conditions, including reacting to mines, responding to enemy direct fire and neutralizing armored vehicle threats. Participants formed squads for the live-fire phase, employing live ammunition in similar scenarios.<\/p>\n

\u201cSection commanders need to make decisions depending on what actions they see on the ground,\u201d said Estonian Defense League Command Sgt. Maj. Ott Sepp, the command sergeant major of the EDL\u2019s Northeast region. \u201cThe Maryland Army National Guard noncommissioned officers are here to give inside experience on how to improve our range conducting skills from a tactical perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

From the planning stages to the execution of the exercise, MDARNG and EDL leadership worked together. Maryland Soldiers marked training area boundaries, placed simulated mines and plotted target locations focusing on tactical realism.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been working very closely together \u2026 ensuring that everything was thought through as a joint effort,\u201d Sepp said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just about coming out here to build relationships and have fun; it\u2019s about building capacity and capabilities,\u201d said Maryland Army National Guard 1st Sgt. Matthew Hawkland, a senior noncommissioned officer with the 1-175th Infantry Regiment. \u201cWe\u2019re helping the Estonians gain more confidence in their ability to maneuver under fire alongside their allies, and that\u2019s something we can\u2019t replicate anywhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hawkland said the exercise was planned, coordinated, and executed by Maryland NCOs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the first time we\u2019ve operated this closely with the Estonians on a maneuver live-fire range,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re going through squads \u2014 moving, firing and communicating at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Estonian Defense League is a primarily voluntary national defense organization in Estonia, comprising civilian members trained to support the country\u2019s military efforts. The EDL works alongside the Estonian Armed Forces to enhance national security through exercises like Ussisonad 24.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe training went really well. The U.S. provided us with valuable insights, and I hope we were able to give something back in return,\u201d said Estonian Defense League Sgt. Siim Saradik, assigned to an anti-armored and javelin unit. \u201cI\u2019m definitely taking a lot away from this exercise, especially how the U.S. utilizes the terrain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ussisonad 24 supports U.S. European Command\u2019s mission of helping to deter conflict, maintain peace and stability and provide strategic depth through military operations, exercises and security cooperation with NATO allies and partners.<\/p>\n

For more National Guard news<\/a><\/p>\n

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National Guard X<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maryland Army National Guard Sgt. Conner McClaskey, an infantryman with the 1-175th Infantry Regiment, speaks with a member of the Estonian Defense League during training exercise USSISONAD24 Sept. 8, 2024, at Sirgala live-fire range in Sirgala, Estonia. The joint exercise was planned and executed through the National Guard\u2019s State Partnership Program, supporting U.S. European Command\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":297497,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-297495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=297495"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297495\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":297498,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297495\/revisions\/297498"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/297497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=297495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=297495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=297495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}