U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to the East Africa Response Force (EARF) in support of the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) and French Soldiers assigned to the 5th Overseas Intermarines Regiment (RIAOM) participated in a live-fire joint artillery training event at the Djiboutian Range Complex, Djibouti, Feb. 2, 2021. The purpose of the joint training was to share French and U.S. artillery techniques and further the relationship between EARF Soldiers and the 5th RIAOM.
“This is the first time in over 4 years the U.S. and French have conducted a joint artillery training exercise like this,” said U.S. Army Capt. Charles Hartwig, battalion fire-support officer. “We did some joint observer training where the French came here and they used our call-for-fire trainer with us which is a computer system to practice call-for-fire. We went over to the French base and they had kind of an artillery show and tel. They showed us their howitzer, computer systems, vehicles and we went to observe and during that time we started to really plan the joint fire exercise for the beginning of February and we had a few safety meetings after that.”
“There are some differences, but the chain of command is roughly the same,” said French Lt. Cedric Duqenois. “It’s very important for our Nations to teach each other procedures so it’s easier to fight together when we go on international missions.”
Starting in December of 2020 the U.S. Soldiers invited the French artillery unit to Camp Lemonnier to conduct call-for-fire training. A week later, the French returned the invite and hosted U.S. Soldiers at the French base. The meetings and knowledge exchanges leading up to the culminating live-fire exercise were extremely valuable. Both the French and U.S. agreed there are more similarities than differences in their artillery procedures. The live-fire event was a huge success and they have already started planning their next one.
