U. S. ARMY FORCES, INCLUDING PATRIOT ANTI-MISSILE BATTERY, TO CONDUCT RAPID-RESPONCE EXERCISES IN POLAND

U.S. Army Forces, including Patriot Anti-Missile Battery, to Conduct Rapid-Response Exercises in Poland

18 March 2015

Warsaw, Poland – This week the U.S. Army deployed to Poland about 30 vehicles and 100 troops from the 5th Battalion/7th Air Defense Regiment, based in Germany.  The U.S. soldiers will train for several days with Polish troops from the 37th Missile Squadron of Air Defense, the 38th Support Squadron, and the 3rd Brigade of Air Defense Command.  The American forces will set up their Patriot air and missile defense assets in Poland to demonstrate the U.S. Army’s capacity to deploy Patriot systems rapidly within NATO territory.  Training elements will include defending high value assets, ground forces, and population areas from ballistic missiles and air strikes.

Currently, the United States Army has three different sets of troops in Poland for training exercises, as part of “Operation Atlantic Resolve.”  American troops have been training continuously in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia to demonstrate the United States’ unwavering commitment to NATO and our Article 5 responsibilities. Operation Atlantic Resolve is designed to reassure allies, demonstrate freedom of movement and deter regional aggression on the eastern flank of NATO. The mission began in response to Russia’s armed support for separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine and its illegal annexation of Crimea a year ago.

In addition to the arrival of the U.S. Patriot Battery, U.S. Army exercises include the following ground forces working with the Polish military:

Arrival of 3rd Infantry Division:  The U.S. Army’s 1st Brigade/3rd Infantry Division (3ID) recently deployed about 200 soldiers and over a dozen heavy mechanized vehicles to Poland for a three-month training rotation that will go through mid-June.  The U.S. Army also sent similar numbers of 3ID troops and equipment to Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia as part of the same training rotation.  The 3rd Infantry Division will operate their Abrams tanks during their training exercises with host nation troops.  The U.S. Army plans to relocate about 120 pieces of the 3ID’s equipment in Germany at the conclusion of the training rotation.  The equipment will remain in Europe to support the expansion of U.S. Army Europe’s “European Activities Set” (pre-positioned equipment) to support the operations of a heavy brigade.  

2nd Cavalry Regiment’s “Dragoon Ride:”   Approximately 550 soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 2nd Cavalry Regiment (2CR) continue to train with allies in Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.  The 2CR soldiers deployed to the region in mid-January; theyare scheduled to complete their training rotation on March 31.  The 2nd Cavalry Regiment (2CR) soldiers have conducted a variety of training activities in Poland, including live fire training that featured the 2CR’s Stryker combat vehicles.  In the coming days, the U.S. Army soldiers with the 2nd Cavalry Regiment will drive their Stryker vehicles over 1,800 kilometers back from locations in Poland, Estonia, and Lithuania to their home station in Vilseck, Germany.  This complex mission, dubbed the “Dragoon Ride,” is the capstone event for the 2CR’s Operation Atlantic Resolve training rotation.  The road march will be carried out over a ten-day period, and the soldiers will have opportunities to engage with local communities along the route.

All of these Operation Atlantic Resolve exercises aim to reassure allies and demonstrate the freedom of movement of NATO defense assets throughout NATO territory.  The United States remains dedicated to maintaining a persistent rotational presence of air, ground, and naval resources in Poland and the Baltic States as long as the need exists to reassure our allies and deter Russian aggression.