Yudh Abhyas 21: India-US joint military training exercise commences at Alaska

The 17th Edition of India-US joint training exercise “EX YUDH ABHYAS 21” commenced at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson, Alaska in the United States on 15 October. The 14-day military training exercise between the two nations include activities on joint training in a "Counter-Insurgency" and "Counter-Terrorism environment" as part of the United Nations mandate, according to the Ministry of Defence press release. The US Army soldiers belonging to First Squadron (Airborne) of the 40th Cavalry Regiment and Indian Army soldiers of 7 MADRAS Infantry Battalion Group would be taking part in the joint training exercise. 

Taking to Twitter, the Indian Army announced the commencing of the opening ceremony of the training exercise in Alaska. The Indian Army in a tweet said, "The 17th Edition of India–US joint training exercise commenced with an opening ceremony at #Alaska #USA. The 14 days exercise includes joint training for operations under #UnitedNations mandate." As per the Ministry of Defence press release, the opening ceremony was commenced with the unfurling of the National Flags of both countries amidst playing of the National anthems of both the nations. 300 US Army soldiers belonging to First Squadron (Airborne) of the 40th Cavalry Regiment and 350 soldiers of 7 MADRAS Infantry Battalion Group of Indian Army would be participating in the joint military training exercise. 

During the opening ceremony, Major General Brian Eifler, Commander US Army, Alaska, welcomed the Indian contingent. He called on both the contingents to focus on "improving cohesion and interoperability to achieve training objectives of the exercise", as per the Ministry of Defence press release. He emphasised the importance of the free exchange of ideas and best practices between the troops of both nations. He asserted the need for both the contingents to learn from each other's experiences. "The joint exercise will help the armed forces of both the countries in knowing each other and they would be able to share their experiences and boosting the 'situational awareness' through the exchange of information," states the Ministry of Defence press release. The training exercise would help in undertaking joint operations at the 'Battalion level in mountainous terrain with cold climatic conditions'.

Image: AP/PTI/RepresentativeImage