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Known as a full spectrum training environment, the complex, monthlong exercise at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels reshapes a brigade into an expeditionary force and pits it against a conventional force armed with tanks, helicopters and unmanned drones. It’s the first European exercise of its scope in a decade, organizers say

Under the training scenario, the 173rd will jump into a “host” country as part of a U.N.- and NATO-backed show of force against an aggressor on the border. The countries are modeled on the Caucasus; they present problems including a mix of ethnic loyalties, a weapons smuggling operation and endangered civilians.

More than 7,500 participants from 17 countries will take part in the exercise. A Slovenian battalion will join the 173rd; a Slovakian battalion will team up with the 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment to play the opposition force.

It’s a scale unseen even in previous high-intensity conflict training in Europe, said Lt. Col. Eric Smith, a JMRC observer controller. Battalion-scale exercises were common at JMRC under the Army’s previous division-command system; modern brigade combat teams have trained largely in counter-insurgency rotations.