Exercise Verboom focused on enhancing combat engineering skills through events such as engineer reconnaissance, obstacle construction, breaching operations, demolitions, and professional development. The aim was to strengthen battlefield readiness and foster interoperability among NATO allies in complex, real-world scenarios.
“Training like this is crucial to success on the battlefield,” said U.S. Army Captain Mark Fischer, Bravo Company Commander. “Learning how our NATO partners train and fight as engineers only strengthens us—it also allows us to look at our own doctrine and training methods to see if they should be modified.”
One key task on the first day involved deploying multinational teams using various armoured vehicles to breach triple-layered concertina wire and level earthen barriers. The final challenge required the use of the M1074 Joint Assault Bridge system to cross terrain and reach the target location.
These demanding scenarios provided vital experience in coordinating multinational operations under pressure. “Working in unison like this and learning new techniques and methods has really improved our time on reaching our target even faster,” noted U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Austin Goforth, squad leader in Bravo Company.
The successful conclusion of Verboom highlighted NATO’s unified approach to defence and the United States’ continued support for regional security in the Baltics. It also reaffirmed the mission of Task Force Iron, which leads multinational training efforts across Europe under U.S. Army V Corps.
Task Force Iron contributes combat-credible forces to V Corps, the only U.S. corps forward-deployed in Europe, to maintain strong partnerships and collective deterrence. Exercises like Verboom ensure forces remain ready, adaptable, and closely aligned in their mission to safeguard European stability.
Source: V Corps (U.S. Army).
