Have you enjoyed working with Foreign Military Forces?

SFC Anabel Cepero — Wed, 21 May 2014 15:43:04 -0400

I know many have had an opportunity to work with Foreign Military Forces to some extent. What was your experience working with them? Did you enjoy working with them and do you have any memorable moments you'd like to share?

Response by SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member made May 21 at 2014 3:49 PM

SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 21 May 2014 15:49:25 -0400

I've had the chance to work with numerous militaries while deployed to Afghanistan. I loved then all except for the French. The only downside is that we do not all play by the same rules. If they did something out of line to us, there was no recourse. I learned so much from The various soldiers and made lifelong friends.

Response by Sgt Erle Mutz made May 22 at 2014 9:08 PM

Sgt Erle Mutz — Thu, 22 May 2014 21:08:19 -0400

Hi Anabel,
If I'm to be "honest" - I did NOT have a very positive experience in Vietnam in 1967-1968, with the Vietnamese forces: PF's (Popular Forces) or RF's (Regional Forces). I had quite positive experiences with the allies from the other foreign military units. IE: Australians, Koreans, etc.
Sgt Erle Mutz

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made May 22 at 2014 9:33 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 22 May 2014 21:33:53 -0400

I have been to Iraq twice and although I have seen many other nations but I have only worked with the Kurds and Iraqi's. They are both about worthless. I trained a brief time with the canadian army and I was not really sure what to think. But I don't think they are as strong as our Army.

Response by SFC Michael Hasbun made May 22 at 2014 9:44 PM

SFC Michael Hasbun — Thu, 22 May 2014 21:44:53 -0400

I've worked with the Armed Forces of Thailand, Israel, Poland, Oman, Australia, Singapore, Iraq, Germany, Italy and France and I've always had a blast...

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made May 22 at 2014 9:52 PM

Sgt Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 22 May 2014 21:52:43 -0400

I worked with British Royal Marines and Australian Armed forces. The British Royal Marines were some of the toughest, rowdiest guys I've ever met. They reminded me of what I imagine British cowboys would be, if they had cowboys. Super friendly, willing to share, barter, trade equipment, and drink like we were best friends. But those guys train hard, work hard and fight hard.

Response by SGT Hector Rojas, AIGA, SHA made Apr 6 at 2015 7:03 PM

SGT Hector Rojas, AIGA, SHA — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 19:03:05 -0400

Here's a funny one, when I was part of the Chilean Air Force in the late 80s - early 90s, the UNITAS military exercise was a great way to put our skills to the test, and we did alright!
We managed to "sink" several US Navy ships flying F-5Es against the superior F-18. One of our diesel subs managed to get within distance and "sunk" another ship. It managed to evade one of the Navy subs.

The Navy pilots called us "cuchilleros" (knife fighters), a nickname we gladly accepted!

And now 20 odd years later I'm in the US Army!, and as such I've had the pleasure to work alongside Germans, Polish, Czech, Romanian and some ANA.

By far my fondest memories stem from helping out a platoon of female Romanian "amazons" (they were all 6' or taller) find their way back to their Camp. Aptly named "Camp Dracula".

They had a sense of humor!

Response by Lt Col Douglas Humerick made Apr 6 at 2015 10:06 PM

Lt Col Douglas Humerick — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 22:06:59 -0400

I served with NATO in Sarajevo in 1997-1998. It was one of my most memorable experiences. I started in the Air Force as a missile launch officer. I never thought I would come into contact with former communist nations. I remember woking with Polish military members along with our 'traditional' allies.

The deployment changed much of how I viewed the world. Serving with brothers and sisters at arms made me realize that these people loved their country as much as I do my own. They are loyal to their respective countries. They were as professional as any US military memebers that I served with.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 6 at 2015 11:00 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 23:00:00 -0400

I've only worked with foreign forces in a training environment, so I can't really speak for how they fight. I sponsored a Rwandan Officer in BOLC, which was a frustrating and rewarding experience at the same time. He was used to T-55s, which are 1950's era armor. Setting him in an M1 Abrams or BFV was complete and utter technology shock for him. He tried very hard but had a hard time keeping up with his classmates. I sponsored a Greek Soldier at MCCC and I also became good friends with a MAJ from Ecuador. I enjoyed working with both of them. I keep in contact with all 3 to this day.

I've actually been selected to participate in the Military Reserve Exchange Program this summer and will have an English Soldier with my unit at our Annual Training. All things are indicating it will be another good experience. The only negative experiences I really had were with Saudi Arabians. They didn't listen very well to their peers or the Cadre and didn't like to pull their weight.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 7 at 2015 1:34 AM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 01:34:44 -0400

I have, my best one was working the Aid Station at Camp Echo, where US forces were minority, and the base commander was a Polish General. SecFor was made up by Mongolians, very tough, should I say. Those guys will shoot anything moving and not identifying before approaching the post. Small FOB. Tiny. Got hit 4 to 5 times a week with either mortars, Rockets, you name it. So the surgery room was ours but providers were Polish, Armenian, Georgian, Ukranian, they all spoke different languages but had Russian in common. Every time we had heavy flow of casualties it was like the united nations, English, Polish, Russian Arabic, but everyone was able to understand each other, as we got to work together. Based on the procedures, I got used to what they needed. It felt at times like being in an episode of MASH.

Response by Capt Richard I P. made Apr 7 at 2015 8:24 AM

Capt Richard I P. — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 08:24:58 -0400

Nope.

Response by Col Joseph Lenertz made Apr 7 at 2015 9:28 AM

Col Joseph Lenertz — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 09:28:58 -0400

I had two Kuwaiti pilot trainees in my flight during UPT. Nice guys, but the language barrier and a cultural mindset held them back. For example, if anything went seriously wrong with the jet (e.g., loss of an engine, hydraulics), they would exclaim "Allah Akbar" and give up flying. Their attitude was, "if God wants me to die today, who am I to fight it?" They just don't have the same sense of control over their own destiny that we do. Most Americans' attitude is, "if God challenges me with a problem, I will solve that problem or die trying." I can honestly say, if you want your pilot to never give up and be working his butt off until the moment of impact, then you want an American pilot, or at least one with the same mind-set.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 7 at 2015 10:30 AM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 10:30:47 -0400

I worked closely with Canadians in Hawaii and worked with the Aussies in Talisman Saber 2007. The Canadians and Aussies I worked with were always pleasant to work with. On my flight back to Hawaii from Syndey, I sat next to ADF Major and had a very pleasant series of conversations.

I generally have a very positive view of the Canadians and the Aussies.

Response by SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. made Apr 7 at 2015 10:36 AM

SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 10:36:35 -0400

Australians!
They got issued beer!
In the big cans even!

"Records cited by the book show that army canteens were supplied with 7.5 million cans of Australian beer in the six months ending in November 1969. With 7,500 Australian troops in Vietnam at the time, that provided a daily average of between five and six cans."

Response by CPT(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 16 at 2015 10:41 PM

CPT(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 16 Jul 2015 22:41:30 -0400

NO... I personally did not.