REDZIKOWO, Poland – U.S. Navy and U.S. Missile Defense Agency leaders, the mayor of this rural community two hours west of Gdansk and the commander of the Polish Force Protection Battalion held a town hall here the evening of May 17, 2019, for people who live and work in the local area. At the request of the mayor, subject matter experts answered questions about the Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System now under construction at nearby Naval Support Facility Redzikowo. Concerns centered on the safety of the system, potential environmental impacts and employment opportunities at the installation for local residents. Some 50 people attended the event, including local fire, police and other first responders. Naval Support Facility Redzikowo is a tangible demonstration of the U.S. commitment to collective security in Europe. It is the Navy’s newest installation, the first U.S. installation in Poland and is co-located with the Redzikowo Force Protection Battalion at the Redzikowo Military Base. The Aegis Ashore site at Redzikowo is Phase III of the European Phased Adaptive Approach, the United States’ voluntary national contribution to NATO Ballistic Missile Defense. Aegis Ashore in Poland expands the defensive capability that protects NATO European territories, populations and forces from ballistic missile threats emanating from outside the Euro-Atlantic area. The system is designed to detect, track, engage and destroy ballistic missiles in flight. It uses the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) interceptor, which does not carry an explosive warhead, to intercept and destroy an enemy missile by colliding with it at high speed.