KNOW YOUR DEFENDER-2023 Alexandroupoli, Greece [Image 1 of 4]

ALEXANDROUPOLI, GREECE

05.18.2023

Photo by Alexandra Shea 

319th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

Meet 1st Lt. Cairyl S. Alcazar, a signal officer assigned to the 86th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, 22nd Chemical Battalion, Fort Bliss Tx. Recently deployed to the port of Alexandroupoli, Greece, in support of #DefenderEurope 23, Alcazar and his small team were sent in advance of their unit's main body to secure their equipment at the port and transport it to Romania where they will rejoin their unit.
“We are making sure all of our equipment arrived safely and will line haul it to Romania in the next few days,” Alcazar said.
“We will be participating in Saber Guardian 23,” he explained. “We are supporting by helping the Romanian 2nd Infantry Division make a successful wet gap crossing into the Southern part of the Danube Delta River.”
Until then Alcazar has been enjoying his spare time immersing himself in the local Greek culture.
“I have traveled across a lot of countries, but I would love to retire here in Greece,” he said. “What really struck me the most was how friendly the people are and the food is amazing.”
DEFENDER 23 is a U.S. Army Europe and Africa led exercise focused on the strategic deployment of continental United States-based forces, employment of Army Prepositioned Stocks, and interoperability with Allies and partners. Taking place from 22 April to 23 June, DEFENDER 23 demonstrates USAREUR-AF’s ability to aggregate U.S.-based combat power quickly in Eastern Europe, increase lethality of the NATO Alliance through long-distance fires, build unit readiness in a complex joint, multinational environment, and leverage host nation capabilities to increase USAREUR-AF’s operational reach. DEFENDER 23 includes more than 7,000 U.S. and 157000 multi-national service members from more than 20 nations who will participate including, but not limited to: Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, United Kingdom and the United States. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Alexandra Shea)

• Date Taken: 05.18.2023
• Date Posted: 05.19.2023 12:33
• Photo ID: 7806466
• VIRIN: 230518-A-SO154-0001
• Resolution: 1080x780
• Size: 135.3 KB
• Location: ALEXANDROUPOLI, GR