US Army Plans More Combined Operations With British

 Soldiers with the 82nd Airborne Division and the British Army conducted the largest multi-national airborne training exercise Fort Bragg, North Carolina, has seen in a decade and more integrated operations are planned for the future.

 

The Combined Joint Operational Access Exercise, or CJOAX, in April focused on enhancing interoperability between the two nations' militaries, as well as on developing their roles as their nation's go-to force for immediate response.

 

 

In April, more than 900 British paratroopers from the 3rd Parachute Battalion integrated with the 82nd Airborne Division for the CJOAX on Fort Bragg.

 

More From Forces TV: Memorable Moments from Joint Forcible Entry

 

Col. Joe Ryan, commander of 2nd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division had this to say of the British contingent: "They have given certainly as much as they have gotten. We have not asked them to give more, because they are all in on this relationship. We are proud and satisfied of their level of commitment and their level of will to engage in this relationship, left of the crisis, earlier than the crisis, to the point now that we are confident that on a distant battlefield, we can be more effective earlier." 

 

 

 

 

"They are 100% all in on this," Ryan said. "They have been leaning forward and making sure this is a success. I think this is a testament to our shared vision of the world. They have given as much to this as we have. In our relationship with our allies, often times I think our going-in assumption is that the U.S. has to give, give, give, and give more -- because other nations cannot -- that we have to fill the vacuum. We have not found that in this relationship."