Army soldiers from Brisbane’s 7th Combat Brigade have joined partner forces from the United States Army, British Army and Canadian Army for Joint Warfighting Assessment 2021 (JWA 21) at Fort Carson, in Colorado, United States of America.
The annual command post-style exercise will take place from 17 – 25 June and will consist of simulated combat operations by a combined divisional-size force within a fictitious scenario.
The aim of the exercise is to assess the readiness of each military to integrate with its multinational partners.
Commander of the 7th Combat Brigade Brigadier Jason Blain said the exercise will hone the Brigade’s conventional warfighting skills. It will also show how the Australian Army can integrate with and work alongside our partners.
“This exercise provides us with an opportunity to work with the United States Army, British Army, and the Canadian Army in a multinational Division construct to learn how they operate,” Brigadier Blain said.
“The exercise is also important for maintaining our warfighting competency.
“Ultimately, we will learn about ourselves and our allies, and understand how we can best work together on operations.
JWA 21 also presents the 7th Combat Brigade team with an opportunity to digitally employ future capabilities, including weapons and vehicles, that the Australian Army plans to introduce in the near future. This will pave the way for how these systems can be best-utilised when fighting alongside partner nations.
“We will also test and adjust how we can best employ new equipment and technology being delivered to the Australian Army over the coming years,” said Brigadier Blain.
Around 140 soldiers will participate in the Exercise until the end of June when the troops will return to Australia, complying with local COVID-19 quarantine restrictions.
