Article Posted on : - Nov 01, 2010

Indian Army and U.S. Army senior leaders conduct a troop inspection during the Yudh Abhyas 2010 opening ceremony. Photo: Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson

ALASKA (BNS): The India and US army have started the annual joint and bilateral training exercise Yudh Abhyas 2010 (YA10) on Sunday, at Buckner Physical Fitness Center on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.

The 14-day wargame, codenamed ‘Yudhya Abhyas’ will be held at Fort Richardson, Alaska, to establish and enhance relationships between the allied forces while expanding operational and cultural knowledge with a focus on peacekeeping operations.

"The exercise is designed to build lasting friendships through the promotion of cooperation among our two great democracies while sharing training, cultural exchange and improving partner readiness. US Army Alaska Deputy Commander Col. Mark S. Lowe, acting exercise director, said.

During YA10, the 25th Infantry Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team "Spartans" and 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (National Guard) will join their Indian counterparts from the 62nd Infantry and 5th Parachute Regiment Brigade in airborne and weapons exchanges and a brigade-level command post exercise.

The ceremony marked the beginning of many other events centralised on joint cohesion on and off the field of training.

"The relationship between US Army Pacific and the Indian military grows stronger on a day-to-day basis with these training events,” he added.

In the exercise, both armies will conduct a command post exercise, airborne operations training, marksmanship and tactical training highlighted by a Javelin live-fire.

The armies will also participate in various cultural activities and social exchanges.

The training will build on last year’s Yudh Abhyas exercise, the US and Indian armies’ largest joint military exercise ever, which also included the largest deployment of Stryker armored vehicles outside a combat zone.

In 2009, about 300 US soldiers from the 25th Infantry Division’s 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, deployed from Hawaii with 18 Strykers had completed training with the Indian army’s 7th Mechanized Infantry Battalion at one of India’s premier military training sites.