172nd Infantry Bde. Soldiers train alongside European forces for upcoming deployment

HOHENFELS, Germany — Soldiers with U.S. Army Europe’s 172nd Infantry Brigade are participating in a two-week mission rehearsal exercise at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center here to prepare for deployment to Afghanistan.

MREs ensure Soldiers, leaders and units understand Afghanistan’s operational environment by involving deploying units in a variety of exercises involving U.S. and partner military forces, said Maj. Nick Sternberg, the JMRC public affairs officer.

“The great thing about conducting an MRE at Hohenfels is it very closely mirrors the environment that the brigade will face in Afghanistan,” said Col. Edward Bohnemann, the commander of the 172nd.

During the exercise, Soldiers from the 172nd will be conducting live-fire exercises, air assault missions, base defense operations, and mounted and dismounted patrols with European military forces.

“The Soldiers and leaders should leave this MRE feeling very confident of their abilities,” Colonel Bohnemann said. “There should be no doubt from anybody in the formation that we are ready for the challenges that lay ahead of us.”

The MRE is scheduled to wrap up today.

(Courtesy of U.S. Army Europe Public Affairs)