MOSCOW, 20 May (RIA Novosti) - The Russian-American joint exercise Torgau-2005 will be held in Russia and Germany from May 23 to June 3, a source at the Russian Army press service said Friday.
A group of 52 officers of the US European Command and 87 servicemen of a US composite mechanized infantry company were airlifted to Moscow for the exercise.
According to the agency's interlocutor, 137 Russians and 139 Americans are to participate in the exercise. Alexei Potapov, Deputy Chief of the Combined Forces Academy of the Russian Armed Forces, will direct the maneuvers.
The source said that the Torgau-2005 exercise would be held in two stages. At the first stage, from May 23 to May 28, Russian and American servicemen will hold joint field exercises at the Combined Forces Academy and the range at Solnechnogorsk. The second phase will be held from May 29 to June 3 at a range off Grafenwoehr in South Germany.
"The active phase of the exrcise will be held in Russia at the Solnechnogorsk range. The participants will practice joint brigade actions in defense and hold firing exercises involving tank and infantry fighting vehicles' guns, grenade launchers and small arms," Zhitenev said.
He said that the Torgau-2005 exercise had three main objectives - to practice methods of cooperation between commanders and staff in decision-making, develop staff and brigades cooperation in defense, and practice joint brigade actions.
The Russian-American exercise Torgau-2004 was held in Moscow and the Moscow region last year and involved 60 generals and officers from a US Task Force in Southern Europe.
According to the war game concept, a mechanized brigade of the US Army and a motorized rifle brigade of the Russian Army participate in a peacekeeping operation to protect a third allied country. All the battles took place on maps and computer displays in the Combined Forces Academy.
Besides, Russian and American officers trained in area reconnaissance in the Academy's training center Vystrel outside Solnechnogorsk.
The Grafenwoehr Training Area, located a short distance from the town of the same name, is the largest NATO tradining facility in Europe. It is subordinate to the US 7th Army Training Command set up in 1976, which incoprorates over 15,000 military and civil experts in its units.
MOSCOW, May 29 (RIA Novosti) - The second stage of the Torgau-2005 Russian-US maneuvers opens at the Grafenwehr training grounds in Germany on Sunday.
The main goal of the maneuvers is to practice operations on joint defense against an aggression on the part of the third state, the Russian Land Forces press services told RIA Novosti.
A Joint Russian-US Headquarters will supervise the maneuvers. A joint operational headquarters of a Russian and a US division, reduced headquarters of a Russian and a US brigades, and a combined Russian motorized rifle infantry and a combined US motorized infantry companies will participate in the maneuvers.
Fifty-two officers from the US Army Europe command and 87 men from a combined motorized infantry company will participate in the second stage of Torgau-2005.
The Russian side will airlift 52 officers from the Combined Arms Academy of the Russian Armed Forces and 85 men from a combined motorized rifle infantry company at the Combined Arms Academy training center to the Grafenwehr base.
A combined motorized rifle infantry platoon from Russia consists of headquarters (3 men), an artillery platoon (3 guns, 25 men), a strengthened motorized rifle infantry platoon (37 men), a tank, an IFV, a mounted automatic grenade launcher with a crew and an anti-tank missile launcher with a crew, a reconnaissance group (15 men) and a sapper section (5 men).
A combined motorized infantry company from the US includes headquarters, an artillery section (3 guns), a strengthened motorized infantry platoon (33 men), a tank, an IFV, a reconnaissance group (10 men) and a sapper section (5 men).
The second stage of the joint Russian-US military maneuvers in Germany will end on June 3, 2005.