DEFENDER is the Army’s largest annual opportunity to exercise moving personnel and equipment into theater across modes for initial and follow-on operations critical to Large Scale Combat Operations. Led by U.S. Army Europe and Africa, the exercise focuses on the strategic deployment of CONUS-based forces, employment of Army Prepositioned Stock and follow-on exercises demonstrating lethality and interoperability with Allies and partners

DEFENDER 25 Outreach tour
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Videos
Video by Sgt. Haden Tolbert
Oklahoma National Guard breaks ground on new trench warfare lane
Oklahoma National Guard
June 5, 2024 | 2:39
The Oklahoma National Guard broke ground on a new state-of-the-art one-way attack trench warfare lane at Camp Gruber Training Center, Oklahoma on June 2.

The new range is part of the OKNG’s efforts to provide Citizen-Soldiers with modern, challenging and realistic training areas, which will expose Guardsmen to a variety of threats they may face in conflicts around the globe, said Maj. Gen. Thomas H. Mancino, adjutant general for Oklahoma.

“If you watch the war in Ukraine carefully, you see it’s transitioning to something that looks like World War I, where you have to be dug in to survive,” Mancino said. “In Oklahoma, we had a vision of creating a training facility that will allow our Soldiers to learn to fight in those environments. Learn to fight, clear and win in the trenches.”

CG Information

00:17 - 00:21
Maj. Gen. Thomas H. Mancino
adjutant general for Oklahoma

00:27 - 00:31
Col. Andrew Ballenger
commander, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team

01:29 - 01:33
Lt. Col. Neal Harvey
commander, 545th Brigade Engineer Battalion

02:22 - 02:26
Col. Shane Riley
director of military support, Oklahoma National Guard
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