Gallery contains 11 images
×
Photo 1 of 11
Combined Joint Task Force - Horn
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. John Hampson, an instructor at the U.S. Army Mountain Warfare School, instructs French service members with the 5th Overseas Interarms Regiment (5e RIAOM) on casualty evacuation techniques at the French Combat Training Center at Arta Beach, Djibouti, Dec. 14, 2021. Five instructors from the U.S. Army Mountain Warfare School in Jericho, Vt. taught a five-day Joint Expeditionary Mountain Warfare Course on basic military mountaineering skills to French service members in Djibouti to strengthen the relationships among the international forces working together in the region.
(U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Amanda Stock)
Photo by: Staff Sgt. Amanda Stock
Photo 2 of 11
Combined Joint Task Force - Horn
French service members with the 5th Overseas Interarms Regiment (5e RIAOM) practice hauling a casualty up a mountain at the Arta Range Complex, Djibouti, Dec. 14, 2021. Five instructors from the U.S. Army Mountain Warfare School in Jericho, Vt. taught a five-day Joint Expeditionary Mountain Warfare Course on basic military mountaineering skills to French service members in Djibouti to strengthen the relationships among the international forces working together in the region.
(U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Amanda Stock)
Photo by: Staff Sgt. Amanda Stock
Photo 3 of 11
Combined Joint Task Force - Horn
French service members with the 5th Overseas Interarms Regiment (5e RIAOM) practice casualty evacuation techniques at the French Combat Training Center at Arta Beach, Djibouti, Dec. 14, 2021. Five instructors from the U.S. Army Mountain Warfare School in Jericho, Vt. taught a five-day Joint Expeditionary Mountain Warfare Course on basic military mountaineering skills to French service members in Djibouti to strengthen the relationships among the international forces working together in the region.
(U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Amanda Stock)
Photo by: Staff Sgt. Amanda Stock
Photo 4 of 11
Combined Joint Task Force - Horn
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Elijah Amendola, 1-102nd Infantry Regiment (Mountain), Task Force Iron Gray, Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), assists a French service member with the 5th Overseas Interarms Regiment (5e RIAOM) on fixed rope techniques at the Arta Range Complex, Djibouti, Dec. 15, 2021. Five instructors from the U.S. Army Mountain Warfare School in Jericho, Vt. taught a five-day Joint Expeditionary Mountain Warfare Course on basic military mountaineering skills to French service members in Djibouti to strengthen the relationships among the international forces working together in the region.
(U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Amanda Stock)
Photo by: Staff Sgt. Amanda Stock
Photo 5 of 11
Combined Joint Task Force - Horn
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Christopher George, an instructor at the U.S. Army Mountain Warfare School, and U.S. Army Sgt. Charles Riczu, 1-102nd Infantry Regiment (Mountain), Task Force Iron Gray, Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), demonstrate fixed rope ascension techniques to French service members at the Arta Range Complex, Djibouti, Dec. 15, 2021. Five instructors from the U.S. Army Mountain Warfare School in Jericho, Vt. taught a five-day Joint Expeditionary Mountain Warfare Course on basic military mountaineering skills to French service members in Djibouti to strengthen the relationships among the international forces working together in the region.
(U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Amanda Stock)
Photo by: Staff Sgt. Amanda Stock
Photo 6 of 11
Combined Joint Task Force - Horn
French service members with the 5th Overseas Interams Regiment (5e RIAOM) rappel down a mountain at the Arta Range Complex, Djibouti, Dec. 15, 2021. Five instructors from the U.S. Army Mountain Warfare School in Jericho, Vt. taught a five-day Joint Expeditionary Mountain Warfare Course on basic military mountaineering skills to French service members in Djibouti to strengthen the relationships among the international forces working together in the region.
(U.S. Army Photos by Staff Sgt. Amanda Stock)
Photo by: Staff Sgt. Amanda Stock
Photo 7 of 11
Combined Joint Task Force - Horn
A French service member with the 5th Overseas Interarms Regiment (5e RIAOM) rappells approximately 200 feet down a mountain at the Arta Range Complex, Djibouti, Dec. 15, 2021. Five instructors from the U.S. Army Mountain Warfare School in Jericho, Vt. taught a five-day Joint Expeditionary Mountain Warfare Course on basic military mountaineering skills to French service members in Djibouti to strengthen the relationships among the international forces working together in the region.
(U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Amanda Stock)
Photo by: Staff Sgt. Amanda Stock
Photo 8 of 11
Combined Joint Task Force - Horn
Thirty-two French service members with the 5th Overseas Interarms Regiment (5e RIAOM) successfully complete the Joint Expeditionary Mountain Warfare Course and are awarded the Ram’s Head device and certificate of completion during a graduation ceremony at the French Combat Training Center at Arta Beach, Djibouti, Dec. 16, 2021. Five instructors from the U.S. Army Mountain Warfare School in Jericho, Vt. taught a five-day Joint Expeditionary Mountain Warfare Course on basic military mountaineering skills to French service members in Djibouti to strengthen the relationships among the international forces working together in the region.
(U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Amanda Stock)
Photo by: Staff Sgt. Amanda Stock
Photo 9 of 11
Combined Joint Task Force - Horn
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Alexander Griffith, 1-102nd Infantry Regiment, Task Force Iron Gray, Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), pins a Ram's Head device on a French service member during a graduation ceremony at the French Combat Training Center at Arta Beach, Djibouti, Dec. 16, 2021. Five instructors from the U.S. Army Mountain Warfare School in Jericho, Vt. taught a five-day Joint Expeditionary Mountain Warfare Course on basic military mountaineering skills to French service members in Djibouti to strengthen the relationships among the international forces working together in the region.
(U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Amanda Stock)
Photo by: Staff Sgt. Amanda Stock
Photo 10 of 11
Combined Joint Task Force - Horn
U.S. Army Lt. Col. Frank Tantillo, Commander, Task Force Iron Gray, speaks about the importance of joint training during the graduation ceremony of the Joint Expeditionary Mountain Warfare Course at the French Combat Training Center at Arta Beach, Djibouti, Dec. 16, 2021. Five instructors from the U.S. Army Mountain Warfare School in Jericho, Vt. taught a five-day Joint Expeditionary Mountain Warfare Course on basic military mountaineering skills to French service members in Djibouti to strengthen the relationships among the international forces working together in the region.
(U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Amanda Stock)
Photo by: Staff Sgt. Amanda Stock
Photo 11 of 11
Combined Joint Task Force - Horn
Thirty-two French service members with the 5th Overseas Interarms Regiment (5e RIAOM) successfully complete the Joint Expeditionary Mountain Warfare Course and are awarded the Ram’s Head device and certificate of completion during a graduation ceremony at the French Combat Training Center at Arta Beach, Djibouti, Dec. 16, 2021. Five instructors from the U.S. Army Mountain Warfare School in Jericho, Vt. taught a five-day Joint Expeditionary Mountain Warfare Course on basic military mountaineering skills to French service members in Djibouti to strengthen the relationships among the international forces working together in the region.
(U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Amanda Stock)
Photo by: Staff Sgt. Amanda Stock
Five U.S. Army Mountain Warfare School instructors with the Vermont Army National Guard travelled to Djibouti to teach a five-day Joint Expeditionary Mountain Warfare Course to service members from France’s 5th Overseas Interarms Regiment (5e RIAOM) at the Arta Range Complex, Dec. 12-16, 2021.
The course consisted of knot tying, rope management, rappelling, fixed rope techniques, hauling systems, ascension techniques, lowering systems, basic mountain casualty evacuation, and portable stretcher training. Upon successful completion of the course, the students received the prestigious Ram’s Head device and a certificate of completion during a graduation ceremony.
“Any time we can have information sharing and collaboration, it’s beneficial for us as well as our partner forces,” said Sgt. 1st Class Dustin Dearborn, an instructor at the U.S. Army Mountain Warfare School. “Even the experienced service members were able to take something away from this course.”
Mountain qualified Soldiers from the 1-102nd Infantry Regiment (Mountain), Task Force Iron Gray, Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), assisted Vermont’s instructors with the course. The 1-102nd Infantry Regiment (Mountain) is a unit within the 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain), the only active mountain brigade in the U.S. Army. The 86th IBCT (Mountain) and the Army Mountain Warfare School are both headquartered Vermont.
“Our task force is honored to host this joint training event and further demonstrate our interoperability and continuous cooperation with the French military,” said Lt. Col. Frank Tantillo, Task Force Iron Gray commander. “Because of joint trainings like this, we are all more ready to succeed at our missions and allow future task forces to continue carrying on these partnerships for years to come.”
This is the first time the Army Mountain Warfare School has conducted mountain training for French service members in Djibouti. For years, French forces have routinely invited U.S. service members to participate in the French Desert Commando Course in Djibouti. During Task Force Iron Gray’s deployment to the Horn of Africa, 53 Soldiers successfully completed the grueling 12-day course, earning the foreign identification badge.
The Joint Expeditionary Mountain Warfare Course was a way for the U.S. Army to give back by including foreign nation service members from France’s 5e RIAOM, and share specialty skillsets that strengthen the relationships among the international forces working together in the region. Thirty-two French service members from the 5e RIAOM successfully completed the Joint Expeditionary Mountain Warfare Course.
“This is part of a mutual cooperation between the U.S. and the French,” said French Capt. Benoit Malet, Commander, French Desert Commando Course. “The U.S. came here to teach the French their own techniques. We do the same things but different ways, so it is very interesting to us to discover a new view on what we do.”
(U.S. Army article by Staff Sgt. Amanda Stock)
