Preparing for the Largest Exercise Series of 2017

Saber Guardian 2017 is a high-visibility exercise supported by the military organizations of US Army Europe (USAREUR) . Its objective is to demonstrate credible collective defence capabilities in the spirit of the NATO Warsaw Summit, and at once, it will again provide opportunities for the Hungarian Defence Forces to test capabilities and enhance the effectiveness of allied cooperation. The main planning conference of the exercise series was held in Stefánia Palace – Military Cultural Center, Budapest between 7–10 February, with the participation of around 50 Hungarian experts. “It is a great honor for us to be able to host this main planning conference, which brings together close to 500 soldiers and civilian organizers from 23 countries", Brig.-Gen. Gábor Horváth, Acting Land Forces Chief, HDF Joint Force Command told the press about the event.

Saber Guardian is a joint combined exercise directed by the United States European Command (US EUCOM) and led by the United States Army Europe (USAREUR), which has been taking place since 2013. Traditionally, Saber Guardian has taken place in Romania, Bulgaria and Ukraine, but this year, due to the size and scale of the exercise, the organizers have included Hungary too. In this spirit, the exercise will be taking place in these three countries throughout the month of July. “One of the keys of Saber Guardian is interoperability with allied and partner nations as well as building that capacity assuring our partners and allies in the region. The bottom line of Saber Guardian is collective training for the collective defence of Europe. We want to build upon the promises made at the Warsaw Summit, and move from assurance to deterrence, and assure our partners and allies of the strong US and NATO commitment to the Black Sea region.", USAREUR Lead Exercise Planner Tim Lemley told the press.

Brig.-Gen. László Szabó, Acting Deputy Commander, HDF Augmentation, Preparation and Training Command, the nominated Hungarian national deputy of the exercise director told the press that according to plans, around 7-800 personnel of the Hungarian Defence Forces will participate in the tasks. “From a Hungarian point of view, this exercise is also very important because the soldiers will execute tasks, with English as the language of command, in an array of complex international and national exercises, using common procedures with the armed forces of the countries in the region and the troops of allied countries. This will enable us to enhance the Hungarian Defence Forces’ interoperability and combat capacities, and therefore to cooperate, in various situations, successfully and effectively with our allies and the militaries of countries in the region".

This year’s exercise will be connected to 17 national exercises to be held in seven countries, involving a total of 40,000 military personnel. Saber Guardian 2017 will comprise field training exercises (FTX) coupled with live firing events, and a computer assisted command post exercise (CAX-CPX). The FTXs will be conducted at training grounds in Romania, and the CPX from Bulgaria between 3–22 July; during this, the US forces will transit Hungary while redeploying to the Black Sea region between 6–22 July. After entering the country, they will prepare for water crossing operations by day and night on Exercise Szentes Halberd 2017, and then cross a floating bridge across the Moson Danube. In what follows, in Várpalota they will join Brave Warrior 2017, a high-visibility exercise of the Visegrád Four countries.

Exercise Swift Response 2017 will be synchronized with the arrival of US forces in Romania, as the designated some 3500 troops and the 17 C–130 Hercules transport aircraft will deploy to the HDF Pápa Air Base. It is from here that the US units will conduct airborne operations in Romania and Bulgaria, and the air base will host the exercise control staff as well. Black Swan 2017, to be held in Hungary, will be the Special Operations Forces (SOF) exercise of Saber Guardian 2017.

Photo: Tünde Rácz