Hector Pustina
According to the American armed forces, more than 28,000 soldiers from NATO and partner countries will train together over the next few weeks as part of “Defender Europe 21”. The arenas are primarily practice sites in south-eastern European countries such as Albania, Croatia, Bulgaria and Bosnia-Herzegovina. In Germany, soldiers from the USA are expected to arrive in Nuremberg towards the end of the month. .
“Defender Europe 21” will force the armed forces involved to improve their strength and their intellect, commented the commander in chief of the US armed forces in Europe, Tod D. Wolters on Tuesday at the opening ceremony in the port of Durres in Albania. In the end, however, the operational readiness will have improved in all areas.
The “Defender” exercise last year was actually designed as the largest deployment exercise by the US armed forces since the end of the Cold War. Originally, around 37,000 soldiers were supposed to take part in it. Due to the corona pandemic, however, most of the exercise parts were canceled.