Belgian Army Puts Medium Brigade Through Paces

The live firing part of an exercise of the Belgian army's Medium Brigade on the Bergen-Hohne training area in Germany got off to a bad start yesterday when 11 soldiers were injured in the collision of two Armored Infantry Vehicles (AIVs). Exercise Bergen 2011 began with a field training exercise (FTX) on 10-14 June and lasts until 24 June.

It is the largest exercise by the Belgian army at Bergen-Hohne, according to Belgian Defense, involving 2,100 troops from 17 different units, 51 tracked vehicles and 650 wheeled vehicles, including 75 AIVs. It will be the first time the AIV-DF30 fires at Bergen-Hohne.

The exercise was preceded by the movement of all these troops and vehicles from Belgium, supported by the Belgian army's 18th Logistic Battalion. A reception, staging and onward movement area was set up at Munster-Trauen, close to Bergen-Hohne.

The FTX was the second part of a NATO combat readiness evaluation of the Medium Battalion of the Chasseurs Ardennais. The first part took place at the Chasseurs Ardennais' home base in Marche-en-Famenne in May. The FTX at Bergen-Hohne started with the battalion separating warring factions, supported by sniper teams and psychological operations, and ended with a crowd control exercise.

Belgian Defense photos

Tags: ar99, Belgium