Camp Bundela, Babina, India: India and the United States have concluded the largest-ever army exercise conducted by both nations which involved an impressive array of tanks, combat vehicles, anti-tank missiles and even Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Happy US commanders sent out signals that both the armed forces were ready for joint counter-insurgency and anti-terror operations in battle conditions in the future.

"We will be comfortable going with the Indian Army anywhere, anytime. We want to work together as militaries and ensure peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region," US Army commander (Pacific) Lt Gen Benjamin R Mixon told reporters here.

Photo credit : Staff Sgt. Crista Yazzie, US Army, Pacific, Public Affairs

Queried about the possibility of joint operations in war zones, for example in Afghanistan, he said that would be a call the Indian government would have to take.

Indian Army's director general military operations Lt Gen AS Sekhon, clarified that ''...this exercise is not targeting anybody or any nation, or for any specific contingency. We cannot be using this kind of force in peace-keeping operations.

The exercise was conducted at the Indian Army's training range at Babina, near Jhansi, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, about 275 miles southeast of New Delhi, and lasted two weeks.

Amongst other objectives, the Indian Army also familiarised itself with the US Army's Stryker combat vehicles which boasts of an integrated computer network system. A live-fire exercise was held on 26 October.

Participating in the exercise were Indian Army soldiers from the 'White Tigers' 31st Armoured Division and US soldiers from the 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, from Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

The exercise conformed to the Joint Operations under a UN mandate and was primarily focused around Counter Insurgency/Counter Terrorism strategies in a semi-urban scenario.

Along with peace keeping operations, including military coordination, military decision making process and rules of engagement, the exercise also emphasized human rights aspects, civil military operations, community operations and logistics support operations.

The US Army's deployment of 17 Stryker armoured vehicles was the largest number deployed outside of Iraq and Afghanistan by the US.

This is also the first time that Indo-US mechanized forces have jointly exercised with each other.

 ''It was wonderful training with the Indian army in this joint peace enforcement exercise,'' said Lt Gen Mixon.''

''We want to work together as militaries to establish peace in Asia-Pacific region. If any eventuality occurs in future, we are better prepared to work together,'' he added.

He also claimed that the counter insurgency/terror exercise with India had been absolutely fantastic and it had helped the US soldiers to understand India in a better way.

Amongst some achievements notched up in the course of the exercise were:

- Both sides achieved interoperability and capability to function alongside for operations under an UN mandate. This was achieved through a multi-echelon, full spectrum combined operation focusing on a United Nations peacekeeping operation scenario, while executing a manoeuvre live-fire exercise.

- Participants engaged in a variety of missions, from joint planning and manoeuvre execution,  to cordon and search operations as well as search and rescue training.

The 2nd Stryker Brigade, which returned from Iraq in February is likely to return either to Iraq or be sent to Afghanistan next summer.