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Log inMainers train Montenegro's troops
Mainers train Montenegro's troops
by Outspoken on Mon Nov 17, 2008 5:34 am
Mainers train Montenegro's troops
National Guard soldiers go to the fairly new nation and its forces travel here as a relationship grows.
By DAVID HENCH
Staff Writer Portland Press Herald
Montenegro wasn't even a country when Capt. Michael Steinbuchel joined the Maine Army National Guard. Now he finds himself traveling there several times a year as the young democracy looks to train its soldiers on the American model through a partnership with the Pine Tree State.
The relationship developed over the past 18 months through a U.S. National Guard Bureau program in which National Guards from various states engage in partnerships with newly independent countries.
"We're out there trying to make friends," Steinbuchel said. "The more friends we make today, the more stable the region and therefore the less enemies we have to fight tomorrow."
As Montenegro looks to eventual membership in NATO, Maine is helping the country train its military so it can mesh with those of the United States and western Europe on collective security operations.
Steinbuchel of Buxton is a full-time National Guard soldier who deployed to Iraq with the 133rd Engineers in 2004 and 2005.
He leapt at the chance to become the partnership coordinator because of his interest in travel and diplomacy and because he wanted to join a program that was just starting so he could help it grow.
The former Yugoslav republic of Montenegro, which became a sovereign nation two years ago, is located on the Adriatic Sea east of Italy.
Its communist history left a mark on its military, says Steinbuchel. Like other Warsaw Pact military forces, command and control was very centralized, with young platoon leaders having little independence. But now the country needs to retrain its military to fit the NATO model.
"We push decision-making to the lowest level possible," Steinbuchel said. "We want our noncommissioned officers on the battlefield to have a couple things: understanding of the rules of engagement and the end-state objective."
"We like to empower our noncommissioned officers and educate them and teach them how to make decisions. It's better to teach someone how to make a decision than what decision to make," Steinbuchel said.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=222396&ac=PHnws
National Guard soldiers go to the fairly new nation and its forces travel here as a relationship grows.
By DAVID HENCH
Staff Writer Portland Press Herald
Montenegro wasn't even a country when Capt. Michael Steinbuchel joined the Maine Army National Guard. Now he finds himself traveling there several times a year as the young democracy looks to train its soldiers on the American model through a partnership with the Pine Tree State.
The relationship developed over the past 18 months through a U.S. National Guard Bureau program in which National Guards from various states engage in partnerships with newly independent countries.
"We're out there trying to make friends," Steinbuchel said. "The more friends we make today, the more stable the region and therefore the less enemies we have to fight tomorrow."
As Montenegro looks to eventual membership in NATO, Maine is helping the country train its military so it can mesh with those of the United States and western Europe on collective security operations.
Steinbuchel of Buxton is a full-time National Guard soldier who deployed to Iraq with the 133rd Engineers in 2004 and 2005.
He leapt at the chance to become the partnership coordinator because of his interest in travel and diplomacy and because he wanted to join a program that was just starting so he could help it grow.
The former Yugoslav republic of Montenegro, which became a sovereign nation two years ago, is located on the Adriatic Sea east of Italy.
Its communist history left a mark on its military, says Steinbuchel. Like other Warsaw Pact military forces, command and control was very centralized, with young platoon leaders having little independence. But now the country needs to retrain its military to fit the NATO model.
"We push decision-making to the lowest level possible," Steinbuchel said. "We want our noncommissioned officers on the battlefield to have a couple things: understanding of the rules of engagement and the end-state objective."
"We like to empower our noncommissioned officers and educate them and teach them how to make decisions. It's better to teach someone how to make a decision than what decision to make," Steinbuchel said.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=222396&ac=PHnws
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Plato (427-347 BC)
Plato (427-347 BC)
