 During the week of June 2, 2014, paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade and the Lithuanian Iron Wolf Mechanized Infantry Brigade conducted joint training exercises in preparation for Exercise Saber Strike. Exercise Saber Strike 2014 will take place mid-June in Rukla, Lithuania with elements from Denmark, Lithuania, Poland, and the United States, and this week's exercises were intended to enhance the interoperability between these NATO allies. During the training, both Lithuanian and American soldiers fired live AT-4 anti-tank systems, threw live grenades, and conducted integrated training on mechanized infantry tactics. Captain Gediminas Alaschalskas, Lithuanian Iron Wolf Brigade Operations Officer, comments on how this integrated training has benefited both countries' forces. It's very challenging, but I like this opportunity to see something more, to train something more, to feel something more, and as much as the other companies stay here, we look in that direction in order to find the gaps. The training culminated with the American and Lithuanian soldiers participating in the Lithuanian Iron Wolf Best Squad Competition, in which teams of soldiers rucked 20 kilometers and participated in various stations including land navigation, mine clearing, and NATO heavy weapons proficiency. The final event for the two forces was the Wolf's Path, an intensive obstacle course designed to push both countries' soldiers to the limit. This day-long event included low-crawling through water-filled trenches under barbed wire, crossing a body of water on a single rope, simulated grenade throwing, crawling through narrow pipes, and many other water and land-based obstacles. This is Specialist Eric Bandy of the Michigan National Guard, reporting for the 173rd Airborne Brigade, Lithuania.