Vol. 49, No. 13, November 2020
Serving the Greater Stuttgart
AMID
Military Community
www.stuttgartcitizen.com
TRAINING CONTINUES
Photo by Yvonne Najera, TSC Stuttgart U.S. Airmen assigned to the 721st Air Mobility Operations Group from Ramstein Air Base, assemble the liftgate to load cargo on to a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft during a multi-capable Airmen lift-and-shift training exercise, Nodal Lightning 20-2 at the Stuttgart Army Airfield, Oct. 19, jump to page 8 & 9.
German, US troops focus on force protection By Becca Castellano U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart
Photo by Becca Castellano, USAG Stuttgart Hauptgefreiter ROA Katharina Juergens (right) and Stabsgefreiter Felix Bacher (left), guard an open vent while on patrol during exercise Iron Castle 20.
Outside the commissary on Robinson Barracks, sunlight cascades through the trees, igniting autumn colors and glinting across the M-4 rifle barrel of Stabsgefreiter Felix Bacher, a Bundeswehr soldier. Nearby, Hauptgefreiter ROA Katharina Juergens, an officer candidate in the Bundeswehr, stands guard at the store’s entrance. Inside, U.S. Army Spc. Miguel Lopez alerts the store manager to a simulated security concern, during Iron Castle 20. The four-day bilateral training and partnership exercise between the 52nd Signal Battalion and the Communication and Information Systems Support Battalion 293 offered a chance for U.S. and German troops to practice force protection measures. On that sleepy Wednesday morning, Bacher turned to the sounds of leaves crunching under the tires of a car pulling into the parking lot. He recognized the car from a recent “be on the lookout” or BOLO alert. He shouted for Lopez and approached the vehicle. See IRON CASTLE, page 5
