Do you find value in international joint operations? I do.

1stSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 06 Nov 2015 12:48:31 -0500

http://www.marines.mil/News/NewsDisplay/tabid/3258/Article/627947/us-marines-british-army-team-up-for-military-skills-exercise.aspx

U.S. Marines, British Army team up for military skills exercise

More than 30 U.S. Marines partnered with British soldiers toconduct a three-mile conditioning hike and shooting competition, Oct. 30, 2015.The services are currently executing Exercise PhoenixOdyssey

Response by SFC Michael Hasbun made Nov 6 at 2015 12:55 PM

SFC Michael Hasbun — Fri, 06 Nov 2015 12:55:29 -0500

I love it to death. I've been able to work with Thai Marines, Singaporean Commandoes, Germans, Italians, French, Israeli Defense Forces, Omani Soldiers, British and Australian Soldiers. It's great seeing militaries around the world. And humbling sometimes too...

Response by SrA Matthew Knight made Nov 6 at 2015 1:48 PM

SrA Matthew Knight — Fri, 06 Nov 2015 13:48:29 -0500

I have never worked alongside foreign service members but we saw them frequently at Keesler and even had some in weather training. I always though it was cool to have them training alongside us. It made our weather school feel a little more prestigious knowing that our little school was the only primary weather training school for not only the various branches of the U.S. Military but foreign militaries as well.

Response by SGT Patrick Reno made Nov 6 at 2015 3:50 PM

SGT Patrick Reno — Fri, 06 Nov 2015 15:50:48 -0500

While in Berlin I got to train with the French, British, and some German troops. The French and Germans were great to train with, The British were assholes.

Response by MSgt John Carroll made Nov 6 at 2015 5:22 PM

MSgt John Carroll — Fri, 06 Nov 2015 17:22:11 -0500

I really enjoy Joint Ops but there are always language problems. When the shit hits the fan people revert to their natural language. I was on a Joint Op with a British Mortar Team, Dutch Engineers, Australian SAS, and Gurkah Infantry. Everyone spoke English well enough to understand but some words have different meanings in different counties. That's easy enough to work through but it can be frustrating at times. We also had different ROEs. With the exception of my team and the SAS guys, everyone's ROEs were pretty restricted. Our ROEs were pretty relaxed. That eventually led to my team being on almost every dismounted op instead of QRF. Regardless, when we would get in a TIC the Gurkah's would revert back to their natural language, Nepalese. That is a pretty uncomfortable feeling to hear a bunch of jibberish that you don't understand and your name or call-sign in the middle of it. Do they need me somewhere else? Do they see something/someone near me that I don't? It is very unnerving.

Response by SMSgt Gary Calhoun made Nov 6 at 2015 6:47 PM

SMSgt Gary Calhoun — Fri, 06 Nov 2015 18:47:04 -0500

Absolutely! My rater at JBLE was a Canadian Army Major on exchange. Learning concepts on how CF was able to "make it happen" on a shoestring budget while supporting peacekeeping missions and ISAF was a real lesson. Not everything they do would seem to translate to DoD ops, but there were some novel ways of doing business that make a lot of sense. In addition, working with the Turks, Belgians, Dutch, Germans, Hondurans and British forces gave me an appreciation of their TTPs and political constraints to do the job. I have always enjoyed learning from, and also teaching different military services my craft.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 6 at 2015 9:40 PM

MSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 06 Nov 2015 21:40:40 -0500

Joint assignments/deployments are the best. I learned so much from them and had an awesome time!!

Response by PO1 Glenn Boucher made Nov 7 at 2015 4:09 PM

PO1 Glenn Boucher — Sat, 07 Nov 2015 16:09:39 -0500

With real Allies I think its a great idea, you can see how things operate and get a feeling of trust and respect for the Ally that's being trained with. Language barriers are going to be an issue for some and it is a natural tendency, I think, for some to slip back into their native language when talking to one of their own and unless you understand that language then its can get uncomfortable for some.