WATCH: Indo-US military exercise in Alaska kicks off with Kabbadi, American Football
As part of the "ice-breaking session", the contingents participated in Kabaddi and volleyball matches, and a light-hearted snowball fight at the Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson in Anchorage.
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Alaska, Oct 18: India and the US have kicked off their "Yudh Abhyas" military exercise in Alaska with over 300 soldiers from each side participating in the training. As part of the "ice-breaking session", the contingents participated in Kabaddi and volleyball matches, and a light-hearted snowball fight at the Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson in Anchorage.
Notably, the "Yudh Abhyas" is the longest-running joint military training and defence cooperation endeavour between the two armies. The previous edition of the exercise took place at Mahajan Field Firing Ranges in Bikaner in February.
300 US Army soldiers of First Squadron (Airborne) of the 40th Cavalry Regiment, and 350 soldiers of 7 MADRAS Infantry Battalion Group of Indian Army are participating in this exercise. The 14-day training schedule includes activities on joint training in a Counter Insurgency or Counter Terrorism environment under UN mandate.
The exercise will enable both the Armies to get to know each other more, share their wide experiences and enhance their situational awareness through exchange of information. This will help them in undertaking joint operations at Battalion level in the mountainous terrain with cold climatic conditions under the territory of UN.
Also Read: Indo-US joint training exercise ‘Ex Yudh Abhyas 21’ begins in Alaska
In the opening ceremony, Major General Brian Eifler, Commander US Army, Alaska, formally welcomed the Indian contingent. He urged both contingents to focus on improving the cohesion and inter-operability to achieve training objectives of the exercise. Eifler also highlighted upon the importance of free exchange of ideas, concepts and best practices between troops and the necessity to learn from each other’s experiences.
Indo-US defence ties have been on an upswing in the last few years. In June 2016, the US had designated India a “Major Defence Partner”. The two countries have also signed key defence and security pacts over the past few years, including the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016 that allows their militaries to use each other’s bases for repair and replenishment of supplies as well as provides for deeper cooperation.
