Photo By Sgt. Timothy Massey | U.S. Army Col. Tim Cleveland, left, the Rapid Trident 18 co-director, speaks before a...... read more read more
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YAVORIV, Ukraine - U.S. Soldiers from the Tennessee and California Army National Guard participated in the opening ceremony for the two-week multinational training exercise, Rapid Trident, here, Sep. 3.
Participants for this year’s Rapid Trident include over 2,000 Soldiers representing nations from Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Georgia, Germany, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and the U.S.
The ceremony included the raising of the flags and speeches delivered by distinguished guests from the U.S. and Ukraine. The ceremony concluded with a performance from the Lviv Land Forces Academy’s band as well as a traditional Ukrainian dance performance.
U.S. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch attended the ceremony and spoke to the international Soldiers on the importance of joint, multinational training exercises such as Rapid Trident.
“We are all stronger when we work together, and that’s true in civil society, and it is also true in the military,” stated Yovanovitch, adding that exercises challenge all military forces: Ukrainian, U.S. and multinational.
"When we work together, we get better and we get stronger,” she stated.
Exercise Rapid Trident focuses on defensive operations and is designed to enhance joint combined interoperability with Allied and partner nations.
American co-director for Rapid Trident, Col. Timothy Cleveland, the deputy commander for the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment out of the Tennessee Army National Guard, also spoke with the participating Soldiers.
“During the exercise, units will have to overcome the opposing forces, time, the elements and their own tendencies to be victorious,” stated Cleveland. “In a world of constant conflict, nations are not alone, and Rapid Trident affirms this fact with 13 additional partner and Allied nations participating at all levels of the exercise from opposing forces to instructors and observers.”
Rapid Trident continues through Sep. 14 and includes a variety of multinational command post exercises and field training exercises.
Members from the Tennessee Army National Guard are deployed to Ukraine in support of the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine, which focuses on the continuation of Ukraine’s long-term military reform and professionalism. Soldiers from the California Army National Guard's 115th Regional Support Group are also at the Yavoriv Combat Training Center in support of the exercise as a part of the National Guard's State Partnership Program.
| Date Taken: | 09.03.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 09.03.2018 11:00 |
| Story ID: | 291252 |
| Location: | UA |
| Web Views: | 811 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
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