U.S., German soldiers launched joint training exercise Operation Freedom Shock.

“We don’t know where the next major incident is going to happen,” explained Capt. Eric Flynn, commander, Company A, 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment. “We need to be able to test the systems and processes to make sure that when it does come, we’re not learning for the first time. We actually have tested the systems and we understand what we need to do to push that combat power where we need to be.”

Heavy equipment movement for this deployment readiness exercise was primarily facilitated by rail. Soldiers from 3-69 AR moved vehicles from their staging area on Camp Aachen to the railhead on Tower Barracks in Grafenwoehr, Germany. The final destination for this exercise is the German Army Combat Training Center in Letzlingen, Germany.

Orleans, Indiana, native Pfc. Zane Lewis, Company A, 3-69 AR, prepared for this movement by ensuring his vehicle was ready for the rail.

“Every single thing has to be strapped down, no matter how small it is,” he said.

For Bradley Fighting Vehicle driver Pfc. Brandon Bernier, Company A, 3-69 AR, originally from White Bear Lake, Minnesota, this was his first experience driving his vehicle onto a rail car.

“I have faith in our ground guides,” he said. “I believe they’ll steer me straight and I’ll follow what they do.”

Flynn added that deployment readiness exercises are a lost art over the last decade, explaining that everyone kind of knew the deployment cycle – it became second nature.

“With the shift in missions, this has become a requirement,” he said. “It’s something that we have to get back on to so that we can push combat power to where it’s needed throughout the world. It reassures our NATO allies of our capabilities.”