1^st Armored Division joins ARRC coalition force   

1AD News Release

SENNELAGER, Germany – Nearly 300 1st Armored Division soldiers have teamed up with their Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) counterparts in ARRCADE Fusion 2001 at the Sennelager Training Center in North Rhine-Westphalia.

The exercise, designed to run Headquarters, ARRC, through the gambit of warfighting scenarios and increase the effectiveness of allied command and control interaction, began Oct. 12 and will run until Oct. 26.

A plethora of uniforms and flags from the 17 nations that represent the ARRC is spread out over the training area that forms the nerve center of NATO’s spearhead unit.

Within the scenario, the coalition force joins together to stop further aggression by “Androvian” forces into neighboring “Berengaria.” The coalition forces strive to enforce the U.N. Security Council’s resolutions to restore peace and security in the region and to ensure that all displaced people are free to return in peace to their former homes. 

The geographical setting for the large-scale regional conflict is based on the European landscape. Computer systems and simulators exercise the logistical and combat elements of the scenario without actually deploying troops, saving money and reducing adverse environmental impact.

“We’ve had [the 1^st Armored Division] on exercise with the ARRC now two years running,” said British army Lt. Gen. Sir Christopher F. Drewry, the ARRC commander. “On both occasions, it’s been an enormous value to the ARRC to have U.S. formations participating. I hope it’s been a value to the U.S. division, because it gives them the opportunity of working with multinational formations, anything up to 17 nations and all the challenges that come with working in a multinational coalition. Having the U.S. there as one of those nations is an enormous privilege and great value to everybody,” Drewry added.

In addition to its role as a corps headquarters, HQ ARRC will act as the Land Component Command of an Allied Combined Joint Force.  Further details on the ARRC and exercise ARRCADE Fusion are available at www.arrc.nato.int.

The ARRC was formed in 1991. The 1^st AD is the only American member of the ARRC.