85 personnel of Headquarters Multinational Corps Northeast (HQ MNC NE), Headquarters of Command Support Brigade, German 610th Signal Battalion, Polish 100th Signal and 104th Support Battalions participated in the Combined Endeavor Exercise, held in Grafenwöhr, Germany, from 3 to 16 September 2010.
It was the first time when the Corps’ personnel took part in the Combined Endeavour Exercise, which is the biggest Communication and Information Systems exercise in the world, organised every year by the United States European Command. With the strength of 85 personnel and 29 technical vehicles, the Corps’ contribution along with over 45 nations and organisations has definitely been noticed. “The fact that we have arrived with our regular equipment and operators who on daily basis work on that equipment has especially been valued,” stressed Lieutenant Colonel Krystyn Bagan, the Head of the Corps’ delegation. Prior to the exercise, the Corps personnel participated in a one-week preparation phase at the Headquarters of the 610th Battalion in Prenzlau, Germany, and arrived in the exercise area already on 30 August.
The exercise was about testing Communication and Information (CIS) systems and services used by different nations, headquarters and organisations, and therefore, checking their interoperability. For the Corps that organises annual technical exercises Compact Yellow to introduce new technical solutions, it was an excellent opportunity to using CIS systems and services in a wider multinational environment. As Lieutenant Colonel Bagan pointed out, the Corps’ main interest was placed on testing Everything-over-IP concept, Command, Control and Information System SZAFRAN as well as DAN Bw, IBM Blade and VMware technologies.
“We have achieved our aims,” said Lieutenant Colonel Bagan about the results of the exercise. “Our personnel have demonstrated extensive knowledge and high professionalism,” he continued. Their performance was assessed positively by the exercise organisers and other exercise participants, too. The Deputy Commander of the Multinational Corps Northeast Major General Ryszard Sorokosz, who visited the exercise site on 16 September, also received praise for competent personnel taking part in the exercise and considerable contribution of the Corps. Along with other distinguished guests from the participating states and organisations, General Sorokosz visited different exercise installations and saw how the different systems and services work in practice.
