{"id":6151,"date":"2023-04-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-19T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=6151"},"modified":"2023-04-20T06:48:12","modified_gmt":"2023-04-20T06:48:12","slug":"european-rocket-artillery-summit-launches-allied-initiative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=6151","title":{"rendered":"European rocket artillery summit launches allied initiative"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n U.S. and NATO senior military leaders receive a tour of the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System during the European Rocket Artillery Summit in Toru\u0144, Poland, April 18, 2023. The 4th Infantry Division\u2019s mission in Europe is to engage in multinational training and exercises across the continent, working alongside NATO allies and regional security partners to provide combat-credible forces to V Corps, America\u2019s forward deployed corps in Europe. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. John Schoebel)
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\n U.S. and NATO senior military leaders pose for a group photo during the European Rocket Artillery Summit in Toru\u0144, Poland, April 18, 2023. The 4th Infantry Division\u2019s mission in Europe is to engage in multinational training and exercises across the continent, working alongside NATO allies and regional security partners to provide combat-credible forces to V Corps, America\u2019s forward deployed corps in Europe. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. John Schoebel)
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TORUN, Poland \u2014 Senior leaders from V Corps, partner U.S. formations and allied services launched into the pathbreaking European High Mobility Artillery Rocket System Initiative April 17-19 at the Polish Artillery School.<\/p>\n

The European Rocket Artillery Summit marked the first major milestone of the HIMARS initiative and introduced key leaders, staff members and technical experts to relevant concepts as well as doctrinal, organizational, training and logistical considerations.<\/p>\n

The summit featured remarks from senior leaders, panel discussions led by relevant subject matter experts, static displays and a modest handful of social activities. Panelists discussed topics spanning from employment of long-range rocket artillery in large scale conflict, effective targeting and achievement of improved accuracy through precision technology to systems management, operational processes and integration.<\/p>\n

\u201cBuilding lethality and expanded combat capability with NATO allies and partners is a critical requirement for V Corps,\u201d said Lt. Gen. John S. Kolasheski, the Corps commanding general and summit host. \u201cHIMARS and other rocket artillery systems help us achieve this. So, we\u2019re trying to push through the friction and challenges that diminish our interoperability, integration and ability to achieve these outcomes. The European HIMARS initiative provides forums \u2014 starting with this summit \u2014 to gather and work through those challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n U.S. Army Lt. Gen. John S. Kolasheski, commander of U.S. Army V Corps, speaks with Army leaders during the European Rocket Artillery Summit in Toru\u0144, Poland, April 18, 2023. The 4th Infantry Division\u2019s mission in Europe is to engage in multinational training and exercises across the continent, working alongside NATO allies and regional security partners to provide combat-credible forces to V Corps, America\u2019s forward deployed corps in Europe. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. John Schoebel)
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\u201cThis event is critical,\u201d added Lt. Gen. Wieslaw Kukula, commanding general of the Polish Territorial Defence Forces. \u201cIt is the next step along the road to implementation of the HIMARS system. It marks a new way of thinking, how we create a shared mental picture. We are very close from a mental and a human point of view. This summit will only strengthen those bonds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lt. Gen. Tomasz Piotrowski, operational commander of the Polish Armed Forces, likewise emphasized the human dimension of the summit and enduring partnership among participating leaders and services. He described the summit as an ideal forum for \u201cvery fruitful discussions\u201d that reinforced \u201cgood relations between us as friends and allies. It was a perfect opportunity to share our perspectives, thoughts and concerns. I think that strengthened our relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maj. Gen. Greg Anderson, commanding general of the 10th Mountain Division and a key leader in partner training efforts across NATO\u2019s eastern flank, emphasized the team building as well as the human dimension of the initiative.<\/p>\n

The summit, he said, \u201cmeans a lot to both the division and our allies and teammates. We\u2019re training each other \u2014 iron sharpens iron. Our allies are sharpening us as we sharpen them. In terms of fires, we\u2019re bringing all the components of the fires architecture together \u2014 intelligence, logistics, mission command, fires lethality \u2014 this summit is asking, how do you stitch all that together so divisions and corps can fight next to each other?\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n U.S. and Polish troops prepare their equipment displays for the European Rocket Artillery Summit in Toru\u0144, Poland, April 18, 2023. The 4th Infantry Division\u2019s mission in Europe is to engage in multinational training and exercises across the continent, working alongside NATO allies and regional security partners to provide combat-credible forces to V Corps, America\u2019s forward deployed corps in Europe. (U.S. Army National Guard photo illustration by Sgt. John Schoebel. This photo illustration is several photos merged into one panorama)
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From a tactical and operational standpoint, the summit and broader HIMARS initiative aim to boost allied lethality and capability on the battlefield.<\/p>\n

Col. Wil Hsu, commander of the 41st Field Artillery Brigade, summarized the main advantages of the HIMARS platform. Its superior reach, he noted, \u201cadds depth for the commander to reach targets that are really far out.\u201d Its improved mobility, moreover, allows artillery to \u201ctravel very quickly and move all around\u201d more challenging \u201ccross-country terrain.\u201d Its portability, lastly, permits air transit, \u201cso the HIMARS can go on C130s and C17s and be transported around the European theater and make a big impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

Integration across human, procedural and technical domains, a principle embodied most concretely in the \u201cinteroperability laboratory\u201d \u2014 widely known as the \u201cILAB\u201d throughout Corps and allied formations \u2014 figured prominently in summit discussions. Col. John Hosey, the Corps Security Cooperation director and foremost ILAB authority, participated energetically in a panel devoted to the topic and demonstrated facility capabilities during the summit.<\/p>\n

\u201cInteroperability is a critical topic to the alliance, because being effective results in a more credible collective defense of Europe,\u201d Hosey said. \u201cEach nation can have differences in the way they create their networks, but if it is built to the NATO standard we can federate and communicate on a daily basis. The tempo has increased by allies and partners in wanting the ability to share a common operating picture, which facilitates decision dominance, basically allowing leaders to detect, decide and deliver at speed.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n U.S. Army Sgt. Bobby Jones, right, a master trainer for an RQ-11 Raven Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, V corps, briefs NATO senior military leaders on the benefits of the UAS during the European Rocket Artillery Summit in Toru\u0144, Poland, April 18, 2023. The 4th Infantry Division\u2019s mission in Europe is to engage in multinational training and exercises across the continent, working alongside NATO allies and regional security partners to provide combat-credible forces to V Corps, America\u2019s forward deployed corps in Europe. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. John Schoebel)
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Allies expressed an equally forceful commitment to integration across domains and a similarly optimistic view of ongoing efforts.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019ve brought interoperability to the next level,\u201d said Maj. Gen. Christian-Daniel Dan, deputy chief of Romanian Land Forces. \u201cIt\u2019s just amazing. It\u2019s fantastic.\u201d We need to align \u201cour way of thinking,\u201d in terms of \u201cpeople, processes, procedure \u2026 Technology means a lot and we have to ensure working as a team we are able to make it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hsu directly and forcefully articulated the implications of successful integration for shared NATO endeavors and the destiny of the alliance.<\/p>\n

The basis for NATO, he said, \u201cis 31 nations coming together for a common defense. And what makes that possible is interoperability \u2014 31 nations coming together, able to communicate, whether it be using artillery systems, command and control systems, intelligence, logistics, whatever the system is. If we\u2019re able to communicate together, work together, then we can fight together, and most importantly, have the ability to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

The HIMARS initiative, a tailored operational, activity and investment framework for ongoing rocket artillery endeavors, aims to boost NATO capability and interoperability. The initiative, developed in close coordination with allies, focuses on specific needs of participating countries. A scalable, flexible approach that maximizes versatility and initiative, aims for greater lethality, integration, precision and artillery expertise.<\/p>\n

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\n U.S. Army Col. John Hosey, the security of current operations for V Corps, briefs NATO senior military leaders on the interoperability lab functions during the European Rocket Artillery Summit in Toru\u0144, Poland, April 18, 2023. The 4th Infantry Division\u2019s mission in Europe is to engage in multinational training and exercises across the continent, working alongside NATO allies and regional security partners to provide combat-credible forces to V Corps, America\u2019s forward deployed corps in Europe. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. John Schoebel)
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The initiative\u2019s next steps include additional leader engagements and planning and synchronization forums as well as aggressive training and mentorship efforts, punctuated by a HIMARS apprenticeship program. The apprenticeship program will match allied personnel with specialized U.S. Soldiers and formations to inculcate knowledge of systems, capabilities and procedures.<\/p>\n

The V Corps commander outlined the way ahead.<\/p>\n

The second phase of the HIMARS initiative, Kolasheski noted, \u201cis a series of operations and logistics summits, where we bring in a community of interest \u2014 those who have HIMARS and those scheduled to get HIMARS through the foreign military sales process.\u201d The third phase, he continued, \u201cis an apprenticeship program, where we take those same countries and their soldiers and we embed them in comparable U.S. Army units. We take their officers and noncommissioned officers and embed them into our HIMARS or MLRS battalions, where they get an opportunity to learn what it takes to effectively man, train, maintain and sustain the system.\u201d<\/p>\n

The final phase involves additional new equipment training as allied units prepare to acquire their own systems. \u201cThis training is part of a program manager-delivered program of instruction,\u201d Kolasheski said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very excited about this initiative,\u201d the V Corps commanding general added. \u201cWe see this as the underpinning of an expanded ability to fight with joint fires in support of large-scale combat operations.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1 \/ 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption \u2013 U.S. and NATO senior military leaders receive a tour of the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System during the European Rocket Artillery Summit in Toru\u0144, Poland, April 18, 2023. The 4th Infantry Division\u2019s mission in Europe is to engage in multinational training and exercises across the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6153,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6151","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\/6151","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=6151"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6151\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6160,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6151\/revisions\/6160"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}