FRIDAY FOTO (November 6, 2020)

Golden Rainbow.

(U.S. Army photo by Major Robert Fellingham)

A CH-47 Chinook from B Company, 1st Battalion, 214th General Support Aviation Regiment spins up for an evening training flight just after an October 6 storm clears — leaving a rainbow in its wake —  Katterbach Army Airfield in Germany.

FRIDAY FOTO (October 4, 2019)

Chinooks Bearing Gifts.

(U.S. Army photo by Sergeant Thomas Mort)

Army CH-47 Chinook helicopters transport vehicles as part of an air assault mission at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany.

The photo was taken September 26, 2019 during Exercise Saber Junction, which involved nearly 5,400 participants from 16 ally and partner nations.

FRIDAY FOTO (August 28, 2014)

Dismount!

U.S. Army Photo by Sergeant Christina Dion

Estonian soldiers leave their armored vehicle and take a defensive position during a simulated training exercise at Hohenfels Training Area, Germany during Saber Junction 14. Saber Junction is an annual large-scale, multinational military exercise, involving hundreds of aircraft and vehicles and thousands of personnel from 16 different nations.

The exercise prepares brigade-level units for worldwide contingency operations. With continuing budget constraints for the foreseeable future, current Pentagon strategy calls for the U.S. military to rely on partner nations — like Estonia – to carry out operations with minimal U.S. presence in their country.  The United States has also been sending U.S. troops to train in Eastern Europe, including Lativia, Lithuania and Estonian as a sign of solidarity with Baltic states and to discourage Russia from further military adventures in Eastern Europe — like the Russian annexation of Ukraine.

The exercise also focuses U.S., NATO, and partner forces on concepts such as decisive land operations through the simultaneous combination of offensive, defensive and stability operations and on interoperability with partnered nations.

FRIDAY FOTO (May 29, 2014)

Dog Day Afternoon.

U.S. Army photo by Capt. John Farmer

Lithuanian soldiers provide a security escort for U.S. Army Sgt. Kara Yost, right, and Kajo, her military working dog, during urban assault training at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany.

Yost, a military police dog handler, and Kajo are assigned to the 131st Military Working Dog Detachment, 615th Military Police Company.

To see more photos of the training exercise, click here.