Photo By Staff Sgt. Alexander Skripnichuk | Maj. Nathan Williams (right), executive officer with the U.S. Army's 1st Squadron,...... read more read more
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YAVORIV, Ukraine – Paratroopers from the U.S. Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade visited the “Window on America” program center May 28, 2015, in L'viv, Ukraine, to talk about what it means to be a U.S. paratrooper.
The paratroopers are training the newly-reformed Ukrainian national guard at the International Peacekeeping and Security Center in Yavoriv, Ukraine, as part of Fearless Guardian, but they’re also taking time to interact with the local Ukrainian populace as part of an community-outreach program led by the 173rd Abn. Bde.'s Civil Affairs team.
Maj. Nathan Williams, the executive officer of 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment, 173rd Abn. Bde., was the main speaker at the event which had approximately 30 students from Ivano-Frankov University attending. Williams briefed the students on the capabilities of the173rd Abn. Bde., their recent endeavors in Europe and Fearless Guardian, and their current mission in Ukraine.
Fearless Guardian is the name for the Congress-approved, Departments of State and Defense initiative to train the Ukraine national guard under the Global Security Contingency Fund-Ukraine. The U.S. military and the training they provide are at the request of the Ukrainian government.
The students used the event as an opportunity to ask Williams several questions concerning the 173rd Abn. Bde.'s mission in Ukraine. Oleg Kindzer voiced his concerns and asked why the brigade is only training the Ukrainian national guard and not the rest of the Ukrainian armed forces. Williams replied, “This training is just the beginning, but at this time our training is focused on the Ukrainian national guard; the United States is committed to our partner nation of Ukraine and we aren't going anywhere.”
Maxsum Lozd, also a student, asked how the Ukrainian national guard compared to other nation's militaries.
“The 173rd Abn. Bde. is the Army's Contingency Response Force in Europe,” Williams calmly explained. “We train with our allies and partners on a daily basis. The national guard of Ukraine have a strong desire to learn and a dedication to succeed that is on par with or exceeds any other soldiers I have the honor of working with. It is very inspiring to see the motivation of the Ukrainian soldiers. They know what they may face and they are willing to do what it takes to be prepared to face the challenge.”
The meeting wasn't just about Fearless Guardian, students also asked Williams some personal questions as well. Kavina Grishkovska asked Williams why he became a paratrooper. “I wanted to test my limits and wanted to jump out of airplanes, of course,” Williams jokingly replied. “Turns out a perfectly good aircraft is fun to jump out.”
The U.S. Embassy “Window on America” program is designed to promote mutual understanding between the United States and Ukraine by providing information about U.S. history, government, society, and values to Ukrainian audiences. This creates an excellent platform for paratroopers to interact with the people of Ukraine and inform them about the partnership and training between the 173rd Abn. Bde. and the Ukrainian national guard.
| Date Taken: | 05.28.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 06.02.2015 09:43 |
| Story ID: | 165170 |
| Location: | YAVORIV, UA |
| Web Views: | 161 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Sky Soldiers talk Fearless Guardian with students, by SSG Alexander Skripnichuk, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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