U.S. Army Europe’s Col. Andrew Heppelmann, co-director

U.S. Army Europe’s Col. Andrew Heppelmann, co-director of the Immediate Response 2012 training exercise, along with Croatian land forces Col. Ivan Turkalj, the Croatian co-director of the Immediate Response 2012 training exercise, salute the members of the exercise control group of the Croatian army as they begin the closing ceremonies of the Immediate Response 2012 (IR12) training event held in Slunj, Croatia on Saturday, June 9, 2012. IR12 is a multinational tactical field training exercise that will involve more than 700 personnel primarily from the U.S. Army Europe’s 2nd Cavalry Regiment and Croatian armed forces, with contingents from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Slovenia. Macedonia and Serbia sent observers to the exercise. The exercise is a part of USEUCOM's joint training and exercise program designed to enhance joint and combined interoperability between the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, Croatian armed forces and partner nations, and will help prepare participants to operate successfully in a joint, multinational, interagency, integrated environment.