Several Tennessee National Guard members headed to Bulgaria this week for joint training with NATO allies.
“Nearly 20 Soldiers from Athens’ 117th Military Police Battalion and Murfreesboro’s 269th Military Police Company joined more than 140 military policemen from five different allied nations today for the opening ceremony of Beyond Horizon 2024, a multi-national training exercise held at Bulgaria’s Novo Selo Training Site, May 14-22,” according to the Tennessee Department of Military.
The Guardsmen will train with soldiers from Bulgaria, Canada, Greece, North Macedonia, and Romania to “improve combat skills and ensure they meet NATO standards for interoperability.”
Specifically, the troops will train in military operations on urban terrain, detainee operations, site security, improvised explosive device response, and medical evacuations from combat zones.
“For the first five days, each nation will have the opportunity to work together and train at the squad and platoon level,” said Lt. Col. Andrew Dye, commander of the 117th Military Police Battalion. “We have some great instructors from the 269th Military Police Company here to teach many of the classes and training events.”
After the first five days of training, the brief deployment will end with a three-day exercise between the participating militaries to put to use the training they received.
“The major exercise is where we really get to bond as partners and learn the nuances of how each country’s military operates,” said Dye. “During that time, we will be responding to realistic scenarios like protestors, terrorist attacks, detainee escapes, and medical emergencies, just to name a few. These events will test how we react and then we will adjust and make corrections to streamline our response; therefore, making us faster, more efficient, and safer.”
Members of the Tennessee National Guard are currently deployed domestically and around the world.
As reported by The Tennessee Star, members of the 1130th Finance Detachment are currently deployed to Kuwait, while members of the 1175th Transportation Company are in Texas installing razor wire along the U.S. Southern border with Mexico as part of that state’s “Operation Lone Star.”
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter/X.
