U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael P. Perez, commandant

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael P. Perez, commandant of the Observer Coach Trainer Academy, gives provides safety precautions for handling pyrotechnics at Operation Swift Response at Hohenfels JMRC Training Area in southeastern Germany, June 8, 2016. Exercise Swift Response is one of the premier military crisis response training events for multi-national airborne forces in the world. The exercise is designed to enhance the readiness of the combat core of the U.S. Global Response Force -- currently the 82nd Airborne Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team -- to conduct rapid response, joint-forcible entry and follow-on operations alongside Allied high-readiness forces in Europe. Swift Response 16 includes more than 5,000 Soldiers and Airmen from Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain and the United states and takes place in Poland and Germany, May 27-June 26, 2016. (Photo by U.S. Army National Guard Sgt. Adrian Shelton)