Washington: The Indian soldiers engaged with their American counterparts in the annual joint exercise have impressed the US military leadership with their high professional skills especially the concept of "maximum restraint and minimum force".
During the 11th exercise in 'Yudh Abhyas' series, which started in 2004, the US soldiers have learned the mantra of maximum restraint and minimum force which Indian Army have successfully implemented in states like Jammu and Kashmir when it comes to counter-terrorism operations.
"One of the great mantras that we got (from the Indians) is the concept of maximum restrain minimum force," said Lt Col Teddy Kleisner from the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment.
Kleisner, who has been leading a team of US soldiers in the joint annual exercise with Indian counterparts, said that he and his fellow American soldiers are have also learnt about the anti-infiltration security fence that India has on the border.
The Indo-US combined military training exercise has focused at strengthening and broadening interoperability and cooperation between the two armies.
Leading a team of 150 Indian soldiers from India, Brig General Guljeet Singh Jamwal is the overall mission commander for Yudh Abhyas at the Joint Base Lewis McChord in Washington State.
"How you guys position that inside the Indian border to create space that allows more time for your leaders to make decisions on how to react to infiltration," he said in response to a question, adding that the Indian army is one of the best armies of the world.
Lieutenant General Stephen R. Lanza, Commanding General, I Corps Joint Base Lewis-McChord said the US has learned a lot from the Indian forces. "We have learned a tremendous amount from them on jointness, operating at high altitude and in developing soldier-to-soldier relationships," he said.
Commenting on why the Indian Army is training here at Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington he said: "It shows the advantage of JBLM as a power-projection platform, more importantly the opportunity of these countries to train here."
The two armies have a lot to share, said Brigadier Jamwal in an interview to the local News Tribune daily. "I'm sure this exercise for all of us will be an excellent opportunity to learn from each other," he said in another interview to the US army news website.
This year's Yudh Abhyas is focusing on peacekeeping operations under United Nations, probably the type of scenarios the two countries are expected to do together, Kleisner said.
"We have done a lot of team building exercise with each other, we have done some weapons training together. We have done a lot of classes together talking about tactics and tactical games. It has been fantastic so far," he said. "It is extremely refreshing to work with your army. We are learning as much as they are learning," he added.
"This bilateral exercise reinforces our commitment to the Indo-Asia-Pacific region and improves the interoperability between our two Armies. It builds upon our enduring partnership and cultivates trust," said Brigadier Robert Ulses, 7th Infantry Division, Deputy Commanding General-Sustainment.
"We must work together, shoulder to shoulder, to operate at the speed of trust," he said. "With our allies and partners we are able to prevent, mitigate and respond to crisis in order to assure security," he added.
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