Over the past week, In the remote jungles of the Nausori Highlands of Fiji, National Guard Soldiers retraced the steps of history in the South Pacific during Exercise Cartwheel – a military training event that echoes its namesake, the pivotal World War II Operation Cartwheel.
Like the 1943 operation in which forces from the U.S., New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, and other Pacific Island nations fought side-by-side to defeat Japanese forces in Papua New Guinea, Exercise Cartwheel demonstrates the same multinational expeditionary readiness.
Soldiers of the Nevada Army National Guard’s 609th Engineer Company, along with other Nevada Army Guard elements, were among the more than 400 multinational Soldiers who traveled to Fiji to participate in the exercise from Sept. 10-20. The U.S. Army Pacific-sponsored exercise teamed Soldiers from the U.S., Fiji, Tonga, Australia, New Zealand, France, and the United Kingdom in military-to-military training to enhance their multinational combat readiness.
“Exercise Cartwheel reinforces bonds forged over 83 years ago in World War II, and now it creates a platform for enhancing multilateral interoperability here in this Pacific theater, often called the theater of consequence,” said Brig. Gen. Lance A. Okamura, the U.S. Army Pacific deputy commanding general. “This endeavor called Cartwheel enhances readiness and credibility – crucial elements of supporting peace and stability throughout this very critical region.”
Throughout the 10-day event, U.S. and partner nation forces trained and lived together in mixed multinational squads. They rotated through rappel, jungle, and squad live-fire operations lanes together, with the Nevada Guard members leading the rappel and live-fire lanes, said Capt. Phillip Fred, commander of the 609th Eng. Co.
This is the second year that Nevada Guard members have participated in the exercise, but their relationship with their Fijian and Tongan partners goes much deeper.
The Nevada National Guard is aligned with Fiji and Tonga in the U.S. Department of Defense National Guard State Partnership program, which pairs each state’s National Guard with the military of a partner country.
“The SPP is unique in the DoD as it is designed to build trust through mutually beneficial partnership with long-standing relationships between individual countries and their partner state National Guards from the leadership levels down to Soldiers and Airmen working with their partner counterparts, sometimes for entire careers,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Andrew Chilcoat, chief of International Affairs, National Guard Bureau SPP.
Fred added that these connections are the cornerstone of the exercise.
“The intent of this exercise is to develop those relationships from the lowest level, so that from the commanding generals to the privates we have that relationship,” he said.
One of those relationships formed between U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Juan Loera, a rappel master with the 609th Eng. Co., and his Fijian counterpart Republic of Fiji Military Forces Lance Cpl. Vilitati Vetiduadue, who met at Exercise Cartwheel 2023 and bonded through rappel training.
The two maintained a mentorship and personal relationship over the past year that saw Vetiduadue become one of the lead rappel instructors for the RFMF, and one of the lead instructors at this year’s exercise, said Loera.
Vetiduadue, alongside Loera and other 609th Eng. Co. rappel masters, ensured the safety at this year’s rappel lane as the Soldiers streamed through the instruction and confidence training to then rappel down a cliff face. Once at the bottom, Soldiers eagerly climbed a menacingly steep hill, at times racing each other, for second and third chances to rappel again.
“We didn’t have any training in Fiji for rappelling,” said Vetiduadue, adding that since Cartwheel 2023 they have implemented the knowledge they gained. “We went back to our units and taught them how to do rappelling. The commanders are very happy to have this knowledge for the RFMF.”
Loera added that is a point of pride for him.
“Anything that you can show your neighbor that can provide value in their day-to-day life brings immense pride to myself and my family, let alone traveling across the world and showing that to another culture,” said Loera.
For Fred, the highlight of the exercise was seeing those relationships develop at the live-fire lane.
“It’s exciting watching one of my squad leaders deal with a French squad leader and an interpreter as they go over their tactics, techniques and procedures and get that experience.”
After the long days of training in the blistering Fijian sun, Soldiers ended the evenings with as much vigor as they began the day. At bonfires, encircled by Soldiers from all seven nations, Fijian songs provided the musical score to contests from dancing to arm-wrestling. RFMF soldiers also shared an important Fijian custom by sharing a grog.
The grog, called Kava, is made from yaqona root and is traditionally served as part of ceremonies, most commonly to welcome guests into a village and on important occasions.
“It is important because it’s a tradition for the Fijians, and that tradition creates a connection,” said French army Capt. Marvin Caboche, a paratrooper instructor with the 8th Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment.
It was this spirit of cooperation that Okamura reminded the Soldiers of at the start of the exercise, using the Fijian phrase “toso vata,” meaning to go together. This phrase, he said, ties together the lineage of partnerships from those made in combat in the Pacific in WWII, to the important connections they would make throughout Exercise Cartwheel 2024.
“Tosa vata, remember those two important words, for they mark the significance of this exercise,” said Okamura. “The relationships fostered here represent the strength and essence of our partnerships. Relationships, friendships, and partnerships; they form the sturdy foundation upon which we can pursue our mutual interests together.”
