Army National Guard Soldiers train with Denmark soldiers at exercise Golden Coyote

Story by Danish Army Home Guard 1st Lt. Nikolaj Grøn

RAPID CITY, S.D. – Soldiers from Arizona Army National Guard recently teamed up with Danish army soldiers from the Danish Home Guard to refine first-aid skills as part of the South Dakota National Guard's Golden Coyote training exercise in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Soldiers from the Arizona Army Guard's 860th Military Police Company, conducted the training with the Danish platoon for two days. Soldiers from the two units participated in a joint instruction in first-aid, which was conducted by both Danish and American instructors.

For many Soldiers from the two units, the training marked the first time they trained with soldiers from other countries. For the soldiers of the Danish Home Guard, this also marks the first time they are participating in an exercise in the U.S.

"It has been a great opportunity to train with the Danish soldiers," said Spc. Jackie Rivera, of the 860th MP Co. "We have been integrated fairly easily and the instruction in first-aid went really well."

The training focused on how to assess a wounded person and how to control bleeding, said Danish army Pvt. Thorvaldur, a first-aid instructor with the Danish Home Guard.

"The Americans are pretty good. They know what they are doing and that makes it much easier," said Thorvaldur. "My assistant was quite good and a capable person. The Golden Coyote exercise is a great opportunity because we get to train with units and material that we can't do at home."

Besides first-aid training, the two platoons have also conducted joint training of standard operating procedures, cordon and search and mounted attack techniques.