YARVORIV TRAINING AREA, Ukraine -- Freezing temperatures, occasional sleet, limited logistics and communication assets and a sometimes impassable language barriers might sound like daunting challenges, but for one group of Reserve Marines those factors combined to create an ideal atmosphere for their annual training.Approximately 90 Marines and sailors from Shock Trauma Platoon, 4th Medical Battalion, 4th Force Service Support Group; 3rd Force Reconnaissance Company, 4th Marine Division; and Bridge Company A, 6th Engineer Support Battalion, 4th FSSG deployed to the former Soviet Republic of the Ukraine, 2-17 Oct., for a Partnership for Peace exercise aptly named Cooperative Adventure Exchange '02. In addition to contending with the native Ukrainian language, similar to Russian, Marines overcame communication obstacles with soldiers from countries such as Italy, Hungary and Poland. In all, nineteen countries participated in the exercise. English was the official exercise language and every nation had liaison officers who spoke it, but they weren't always available. In a pinch, Marines employed hand and arm signals and used charades to communicate. Many of the coalition soldiers spoke some broken English. Phrases like "It's no problem," "We go now," and especially "How you correctly say this" were heard throughout the exercise.Coalition teamwork helped this exercise to be a success. Cooperation reached its peak when the Marine Forces Reserve contingent prepared to retrograde back to the U.S. The Marines enlisted the help of the U.S. Army to load their shipping containers onto trucks to get to the airport. The Poles provided the drivers and flat bed trucks while the Ukrainians offered convoy escorts. The help of German decontamination experts made sure the crates came back to the States without any foreign matter. Belgians offered use of some of their equipment to roll the containers onto the aircraft. U.S. Army forklifts were used again to load the containers onto the two civilian contracted aircraft with the help of U.S. Air Force loadmasters to ensure proper stowing on the crates. The Air Force also provided customs agents while the British liaisons provided additional coordination support."The work behind the scenes was tremendous," said Maj. Michael P. Wastila, exercise detachment officer-in-charge, 4th Med. Bn., 4th FSSG. "Marines here definitely learned what it was like to work in a coalition, which was an additional advantage of participating in this exercise for their annual training."Marines from 3rd Force Recon Co. trained alongside a Hungarian long-range reconnaissance company, an Italian field hospital was paired up with the Marines and sailors of Shock Trauma Platoon and the Ukrainian and Marine engineers teamed up on several construction projects. This daily contact provided Marines with valuable training and also gave them insights into their counterparts' customs and culture."This was the first time I have ever participated in a Partnership for Peace exercise," said Lance Cpl. Jennifer M. Parr, 4th Med. Bn. "We did a lot of hard work but it was worth it because it was a great learning experience and a good time."