Deploying to a foreign country, training with twelve other nations and meeting the president of another country is a typical two weeks in the life for soldiers of Bravo and Charlie Companies, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. They are supporting Noble Partner 18 at Vaziani Training Area, Georgia, August 10, 2018. Sgt 1st Class Robert Jordan reports.

Georgian soldiers road march past several 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division armored vehicles at Vaziani Training Area, Georgia, as part of Noble Partner, July 26, 2018 (Picture source: DVIDS/Sgt 1st Class Robert Jordan)

Noble Partner 2018 is a cooperatively-led event improving readiness and interoperability between Georgian Armed Forces, U.S. Army Europe and participating nations. U.S. soldiers flew in from Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, Romania, July 25, to Tbilisi International Airport on a Gerogia Air National Guard C-130. Upon landing, they joined more than 3,000 personnel at the Vaziani and Camp Norio training areas for the exercise scheduled from August 1st to 15th.

The next week was a flurry of activity as the M1A2 Abrams tanks, M2A3 Bradley fighting vehicles, M88A2 Hercules armored recovery vehicle, M113 armored personnel carriers arrive from the Port of Poti. Drivers intently watched as fellow Soldiers guided them down the truck ramps. Once parked, crews prepared the vehicles for the upcoming training.

Over the next several days, unit leaders developed training schedules with their Georgian, German, Ukrainian and British peers to better work together at the upcoming joint training events across the base's numerous ranges.

The planning paid off as the units prepared for combined urban operations training. It's a complex mission with multiple U.S. Bradley and German Marder infantry fighting vehicles with U.S. Soldiers and German soldiers assaulting a village defended by Georgian soldiers acting as opposing forces.