Paratroopers Train With ARRC, Improve Staff Process

INNSWORTH, United Kingdom - About 50 Staff Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers assigned to NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps supported training of the British Army 16 Air Assault Brigade last week near Catterick on Exercise PEGASUS CLAW 17.

The command post exercise of nearly 300 paratroopers from both the headquarters and supporting troops trained on battle staff processes under a NATO construct.

"The exercise provided a unique opportunity for the members of the NATO nations in ARRC to learn and better understand the British planning process in an Air Assault Brigade,” said Colonel Alex Van Nieuwburg, Netherlands Army. "In return, the multi-national composition of the ARRC detachment hopefully has brought some experience and expertise from several NATO nations into the mix.”

"It’s important to test our exercise control ability, and it’s been a good week for the brigade to work with the ARRC. We learn a lot from one another. It is the third time the brigade has worked with us in a NATO scenario in the last 18 months,” said British Army Lieutenant Colonel Neil Lakin, chief exercise controller.

The paratroopers worked with ARRC in the Baltics on Exercise ARRCADE FUSION 15 in November 2015, and again on Exercise EAGLES CLAW in Catterick last spring.

Story by Allied Rapid Reaction Corps Public Affairs Office