Marine Corps tanks and artillery are moving and shooting in Eastern Europe.
The Black Sea Rotational Force, including its Bulgaria-based Combined Arms Company, kicked off a week-long training exercise – — Platinum Lynx 16-2 – — with Romanian and Moldovan forces on Dec. 7, following rail movement of their heavy equipment from Zimnitsa, Bulgaria, to the Smardan Training Area in Romania.
It’s the second major training multinational training exercise for the unit, which arrived at their base at Novo Selo, Bulgaria, in August to bolster security cooperation and interoperability with America’s partners in the region. They and completed their first roll with Bulgarian forces in November.
"This is the first time the Combined Arms Company has moved the tanks, artillery and light-armored vehicles to another country for a multinational live-fire exercise, demonstrating our ability to quickly move our equipment across borders, should we ever need to do so in a crisis," said 1st Lt. Monica Witt, public affairs officer for the Black Sea Rotational Force.
This is the third iteration for year of the annual Platinum Lynx exercise, yet the first for the Combined Arms Company, which adds heavy armor, light reconnaissance and artillery capability to the Black Sea Rotational Force.
For 16-2, the Marines are teaming up with Romanian soldiers, assault breaching vehicles and Russian-made BMP2 infantry fighting vehicles from the 282nd Mechanized Infantry Brigade, the 300th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, and the 282nd Tank Battalion as well as with a light armored reconnaissance platoon from the Republic of Moldova.
The live-fire exercise, which will ends Dec. 12, is focused on mechanized integration between the forces, breaching techniques, dismounted tactics and indirect fire procedures.
To top it off, the "BRRRT" known and beloved by to U.S. military personnel will resound from the Lower Danube region as the U.S. Air Force contributes close-air support missions by A-10 "Warthogs."
When it's all over, the Marines will load up their tanks, artillery and vehicles for rail movement back to Bulgaria.
The Combined Arms Company consists of more than 160 Marines, four M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks, six LAV-25 amphibious armored reconnaissance vehicles and three M77 155mm howitzers.
The Combined Arms Ccompany’s first six-month rotation, led by Capt. Dan Whitt, is drawn from the 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Company, 2nd Engineer Battalion, Combat Logistics Battalion 6, as well as the 1st Battalion, 10th Marines.
It will be followed by at least three more rotations.
Between the 500-strong Black Sea Rotational Force and the Combined Arms Company, nearly 700 Marines are now stationed in Eastern Europe.
The Marine Corps' Black Sea Rotational Force, which is based at the Mihail Kogalniceanu air base in Romania, provides a forward-deployed military presence providing partner capacity building and rapid-crisis response capability throughout the Balkans, Black Sea and Caucasus regions.
It's the tip of the spear for the White House's $1 billion European Reassurance Initiative, rolled out in June 2014, as "a necessary and appropriate show of support to allies … who are now deeply concerned by Russia's occupation and attempted annexation of Crimea and other provocative actions in Ukraine," according to a press statement at the time.
