JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. — Soldiers at Joint Base Lewis-McChord spent Thursday morning welcoming international visitors. It marked the start of a weeks-long joint training exercise between the United States Army and the Indian Army.
Soldiers from the two countries, typically separated by thousands of miles, will spend the next two weeks together as partners.
More than 700 members of the Indian Army will train alongside the 7th Infantry Division at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The battalion level exercise is in its 15th year, but this year is record-setting with the largest contingency of Indian soldiers.
“That shows the amount of importance our country is giving to our joint exercise and the level of interoperability we’re trying to achieve,” said Suraj Bisht, an official of the Indian Army.
India remains a key ally for the United States as a country that shares a border with both Pakistan and China. Indian soldiers have played key roles in UN peacekeeping missions, including responding to national disasters. For the next two weeks, soldiers from both countries will train for a variety of situations including warfare in urban environments.
“The aim is to enhance the synergy enhance the joint manship and have a higher degree of interoperability between both the countries that we operate any kind of contingency in a very, very smooth manner,” Bisht said.
Most of these soldiers have never been to the United States, and many are limited in English. But they share a common mission with troops on the other side of the world.
“Our soldier’s basic skills are very similar in outlook, so we’re excited to see what those differences are and enrich both of our foundations and understand how we can be more interoperable,” said U.S. Army Battalion Commander Douglas Graham.
It’s a partnership that has grown each year.
Now, with the traditional opening ceremony behind them, these men will go on to spend the next two weeks together training.
“The language of the uniform is the same across the board,” Bisht explained.
