In an era of evolving challenges, both globally and across Europe, U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) and its components continue to train and bolster their readiness to execute any mission or respond to an emergency at a moment’s notice.
Most recently, U.S. forces in Europe leveraged several opportunities to hone their skills and expertise through exercises like DEFENDER-Europe 20’s Phase II, Saber Junction and Resolute Castle.
“Through each of these exercises, U.S. Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and civilians have worked alongside host nations, Allies and partners to advance the interoperability and capabilities necessary to support the National Defense Strategy, NATO and the command’s lines of effort,” said U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Jesssica Meyeraan, USEUCOM’s deputy director of partnering, security cooperation and missile defense. “Across the continent, U.S. personnel have worked day in and day out to further collective defense and transatlantic security -- all while confronting the realities of the COVID-19 environment and maintaining the health and wellbeing of the force, their families and their communities.”
As part of Exercise DEFENDER-Europe 20’s final phase, more than 550 Soldiers from America’s Army base at Fort Hood, Texas, deployed to Europe to participate in the monthlong phase of training for this U.S. Army Europe-led exercise, which concluded Saturday. Demonstrating its emergency deployment readiness, the Department of Defense-directed strategic deployment of Soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 1st Cavalry Division to Poland showcased the Army’s ability to rapidly alert and deploy its forces across the globe. As part of the Dynamic Force Employment, the American Soldiers fielded equipment originally pulled from Army Prepositioned Stocks in Germany and Belgium for the earlier phase of DEFENDER-Europe 20 and conducted company-level, combined live-fire exercises with approximately 55 Abrams tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles.
During DEFENDER-Europe 20’s first phase in June, nearly 6,000 U.S. and Polish Soldiers participated in joint training in Poland’s Drawsko Pomorskie Training Area.
Together with forces from eight Allied and partner nations -- Albania, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, North Macedonia, Romania and Ukraine -- U.S. Army Soldiers with the 173rd Airborne Brigade participated in Exercise Saber Junction 20 in Germany’s Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels military training areas this month. Designed to assess the readiness of the American airborne brigade’s ability to execute unified land operations in a joint, combined environment, the more than 4,000 participating forces will conclude this major exercise Thursday.
Another USAREUR-led, multinational exercise, Resolute Castle 20 is designed to reinforce regional partnerships and promote interoperability between nearly 400 American and Polish forces by constructing projects and improving existing infrastructure on Polish military training areas. From constructing an intermediate staging base, warehouse and fuel system supply point to clearing a helicopter landing zone and improving railhead byways and range roads, this nearly four-week exercise, which concludes Sept. 3, continues to forge Polish-American relationships.
“Whether large scale with several thousand forces participating across multiple countries or smaller, more focused exercises operating within single military training areas, each of these exercises has a profoundly positive impact on USEUCOM’s overarching readiness and our strong relationships with Allies and partners,” Meyeraan added.
