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"SABER 6"
278th ACR P.O. BOX 10167 Knoxville, TN 37939-0167 (865) 582-3210 (865) 582-3255
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        Tennessee’s Cavalry Trains with the Bulgarian Army in Charlitza Charlitza, Bulgaria – On the 14th of July, 40 National Guard soldiers from across middle and east Tennessee from the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment deployed to the Republic of Bulgaria to participate in a Training Exercise with counterparts from the Bulgarian Armed Forces. The event had been over a year in planning and coordination between the Tennessee Army National Guard, US European Command (USEUCOM) and General Staff of the Bulgarian Armed Forces. In the spirit of allied cooperation and a desire to ensure the Bulgarian and American militaries stay prepared as allies, Exercise Marada Horseman 2007 serves to keep both countries soldiers prepared to meet the challenges associated with conducting military operations in international coalitions. Planning for the exercise started in the spring of 2006 with a personal invitation to from the Bulgarian Deputy Chief of Defense, Vice Admiral Petrov to the then USEUCOM commander, General James Jones (USMC) and the Tennessee National Guard Adjutant General, Major General Gus Hargett. The Bulgarians invited the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment of the Tennessee National Guard to participate in a 2-week long exercise to enhance and develop inter-operable staff skills in NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) coalition operations with one of their mechanized units at the newly commissioned National Modeling and Simulation Center in Charlitza, Bulgaria. The 278th ACR was also selected to participate due to its extensive experience in conducting full spectrum combat missions during their deployment to Iraq in 2005. Over the course of several planning conferences in Bulgaria, with the assistance of National Guard Bureau, USEUCOM and US Army Europe (USAREUR), the foundations and details of planning the exercise were formulated. Since 1993 the Tennessee National Guard has been the official state partner to the Republic of Bulgaria through USEUCOM’s Joint Contact Team Program (JCTP). Over the years, Tennessee and Bulgaria have literally exchanged hundreds of visits to each other’s countries sharing information on a variety of topics with respect to military operations and civil-military relationships. Tennessee National Guard soldiers have also participated in major military exercises in Bulgaria like Cornerstone ’98, Bulwark ’00, Black Sea Volunteer ’05, Vigilant Sentry ‘05 and Sentry Lion ‘06. Additionally, Tennessee’s National Guard has paired a number of her subordinate major commands with sister units in the Bulgarian Armed Forces to build more permanent unit level relationships. Throughout the years of the State Partnership Program, these sister units exchanged visits that were facilitated by USEUCOM’s International Division. All of these events have been designed to assist Bulgaria’s defense transformation and fully integrate her contributions as a NATO member country and to further develop their military along Western democratic lines. Exercise Marada Horseman 2007, as the event has been named, started with an opening ceremony led by the Colonel Jeffery Holmes, commander of the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment and Colonel Valentin Burov, chief of staff for the 5th Mechanized Infantry Brigade. As the national colors of Bulgaria and the United States were raise on the morning of July 17th over the grounds of the Charlitza campus, the Bulgarian ceremonial guard and band played the national anthems of both countries. The commanders of each unit laid a wreath at the statue of Vasil Levski in memory of his efforts to lead the Bulgarian people in a popular uprising against Ottoman rule over 100 years ago. Vasil Levski is credited with being the father of modern Bulgaria by leading his people to freedom from their oppressive rule and is considered a hero of the Republic of Bulgaria in a similar manner that George Washington is for us in the American Revolution. US Ambassador John Beyrle, Major General Hargett, Major General Frank Grass from USEUCOM and a host of other Bulgarian dignitaries which included the Chief of Defense, General Zlatan Stoykov and Deputy Minister of Defense Spaz Panchev attended the distinguished visitor and media day and were hosted to a reception. The Bulgarian Chief of Defense, General Stoykov, was so impressed with his observations of the exercise that he commented that he hoped all of his units could someday rotate through this center and work with an American unit. During the exercise and to mark the 14th year of the Tennessee-Bulgaria partnership, Ambassador Beyrle hosted a reception at his official residence in honor of Major General Hargett’s personal contributions to enhancing US-Bulgarian relationships in such a measurable and positive way. The Ambassador’s comments to the assembled dignitaries left no doubt in anyone’s mind that Tennessee’s efforts at improving and strengthening US ties with Bulgaria are felt at the highest levels of the Bulgarian and American governments. During the course of the exercise, the Tennessee Troopers were able to sharpen their staff coordination and planning skills to integrate multi-national units into their formations and planning functions. On the 27th of July, Tennessee’s Cavalry troopers began returning home to their families and civilian careers. In addition to the honors they have earned while serving in Iraq, they will also be able to justifiably claim that they are individual ambassadors of the United States. LTC Dana N. Hampton 28JULY2007
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