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VJTF brigade trains water crossing In 2023, Germany will provide the lead unit for the multinational land component of the NATO Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF (Land)), NATO's rapid reaction force, with the Panzergrenadier Brigade 37 "Free State of Saxony". This is part of the NATO Response Force (NRF) 2022-2024. Following the NRF commitment of Panzerlehrbrigade 9 in the years 2018 to 2020 (VJTF 2019), the Federal Republic of Germany is thus once again making a significant contribution to the responsiveness of the defense alliance. "As the lead unit for the land component of the VJTF, we assume a coordinating role," says Brigade Commander General Alexander Krone, describing his mission. "It is important to put all the elements in training, exercise, control and certification together in such a way that the individual skills become the big picture." In order to be able to fulfill this comprehensive mission, the large mechanized unit in the VJTF year 2023 will consist of up to 12,000 soldiers, almost a third of whom belong to the 37th Panzer Grenadier Brigade. The other soldiers come from many areas of the Bundeswehr and from NATO partners. The battle group intended for NATO's "rapid reaction force" is practicing as part of the "Wettiner Schwert" exercise on the Altmark military training area in the Army Combat Training Center. There the unit will undergo certification for the VJTF (Land). As part of the march, the battle group, led by the 393rd Panzer Battalion from Bad Frankenhausen, will train the water crossing over the Elbe near the town of Storkau with a total of 340 vehicles, including around 75 tracked vehicles. The vehicles were ferried across the Elbe using the Amphibian M3 floating high-speed bridge. Our recordings show the preliminary exercise on April 1st on the Havel and then, from 9 minutes and 11 seconds, the transfer from yesterday, April 2nd, from the Klietz training area towards the crossing point over the Elbe near Storkau. Afterwards, the group went to a loading station near the town of Wischer, where all the vehicles gathered and the marching packages were then assembled. Columns of between 10 and 15 vehicles then made their way from there to the Army Combat Training Center (GÜZ). The total distance for this road march was around 60km. Our thanks go to all the soldiers who took part and to those responsible for the 37th Panzergrenadier Brigade for allowing us to accompany them to the press day. Best wishes, Lars de Vries