U.S. and Ukraine opens Rapid Trident 2019 with opening ceremony

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Kyle Larsen | U.S. Army Col. Tim Cleveland, one of the co-directors for Rapid Trident 2019 (RT19) and Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine Director, delivers a speech during the RT19 opening ceremony, Sept. 13-28, 2019, at the International Peacekeeping Security Centre near Yavoriv, Ukraine. RT19 is an annual, multinational exercise, which involves approximately 3,700 personnel from 14 nations, that supports joint combined interoperability among the partner militaries of Ukraine and the United States, as well as Partnership for Peace nations and NATO allies. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Kyle Larsen.)  

YAVORIV, UKRAINE

09.16.2019

Story by Pvt. Joanna Gaona Gomez 

5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment   

YAVORIV, Ukraine - As the co-directors, U.S. Army Col. Tim Cleveland, and Ukraine army Col. Olksandr ZHAKUN, spoke of combined efforts of training while the Ukraine army band cued the music and traditional Ukrainian dancers spun around, signified the initiation of this year’s exercise during the opening ceremony of Rapid Trident 2019 (RT19), September 16, 2019.

More than 3,000 U.S. Soldiers and North Atlantic Treaty Organization partners and allies from 14 nations, attended the opening ceremony for the annual two-week multinational training exercise in Yavoriv, Ukraine.

The following 14 nations will participate in RT19 from September 13-28, 2019: Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Georgia, Italy, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Moldova, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

RT19, formerly known as Peace Shield 1995-2005, is an annual multinational exercise that supports and enhances joint and combined interoperability among allied and partnered nations. Exercise RT19 contributes to the security of Europe as a whole, and provides the United States, allies and partner nations a combined multinational training opportunity.

ZHAKUN, the Deputy Commander of the operational command West of Ukraine, and Col. Tim Cleveland, the Deputy Commander of the Joint Multinational Training Group - Ukraine (JMTG-U), hosted the ceremony and spoke to the NATO soldiers on the importance of joint, multinational training exercises such as Rapid Trident.

“The mix and the joining of cultures to the one common goal of not combat or war but of peace and working together to make the world a better place,” said Sgt Maj. Gerald Davis, 115th Regional Support Group from Roosevelt, California.

Training together in exercises like RT19 allows allies and partners to work together as a team, strengthening personal and professional relationships as well as combined efforts to build collective capabilities, readiness, and interoperability.

“To the soldiers I want to say this, train hard, learn as much as you can and stay safe,” said Cleveland. “The more sweat we lose in this training field the less blood we'll lose on the battlefield.”

The exercise will continue until September 28, 2019 and will include a variety of multinational command post exercises and field training exercises, to include live fire ranges, a wet gap crossing, special operations field training and numerous other events with the culminating event demonstrating the ability to move large multinational forces across uneven terrain to effectively utilize Ukraine’s defenses and protect the border against possible attacks from all potential adversaries.

• Date Taken: 09.16.2019
• Date Posted: 09.16.2019 12:35
• Story ID: 341054
• Location: YAVORIV, UA