“Defender Europe 2021”, 267 American soldiers arrive in Albania

Published: Sunday, 16 May 2021 21:22

267 soldiers of the American Forces joined NATO’s largest military exercise "Defender Europe 21", which will be conducted in 7 Albanian military bases. Soldiers from the 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team were welcomed at Rinas Airport by US Ambassador Yuri Kim and Chief of General Staff of the Albanian Armed Forces Major General Assoc. Prof. Bajram Begaj. US Ambassador Yuri Kim considered this a historic event.

"The United States has spent $ 35 million in Albania, hiring from drivers to construction workers, to cooks. This is a big deal and we are looking forward to this over the next few weeks. We will have up to 6000 troops here. That’s not all at once, but there will be 6000 different troops who will have come through Albania and I think at the end of it, they will all have experienced Albanians very unique and wonderful hospitality, and for military leaders, they will see the strategic value of our very strong cooperation, our alliance with Albania." - Kim said.

Chief of General Staff of the AAF Major General Assoc. Prof. Bajram Begaj said that this exercise takes place for the first time in Albania.

"It is a complex exercise that consists of air, maritime, and ground training exercises. Today, part of the Land Force training team that will be conducted in Biza, is the military squad of 276 people that arrived today. This is a historic event not only for the Army but also for our country.” - said Major General Assoc. Prof. Begaj.

Colonel Blake Glass, Commander of the 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team considered as an excellent opportunity the cooperation with the AAF in the framework of the "Defender Europe 21" exercise.

“Defender Europe 21” is an annual large-scale US Army-led, multinational, a joint exercise designed to build readiness and interoperability between USA, NATO, and partners. More than 28,000 multinational forces from 26 nations will conduct nearly simultaneous operations in 12 countries.