Exercise Watch: Dragoon Crossing

Dragoon Crossing

Nach dem Dragonerritt (Dragoon Ride) aus den baltischen Staaten auf dem Landmarsch zurück in die bayerische Garnison im März sind Stryker-Schützenpanzer der US-Armee jetzt wieder auf dem Landweg in Osteuropa unterwegs – diesmal von Bayern nach Ungarn. An Dragoon Crossing sind 800 Soldaten und 110 Fahrzeuge beteiligt. Erneut wollen die US-Truppen damit demonstrativ ihre Beweglichkeit an der Ostflanke der NATO beweisen:

The weeklong tactical road march, from Vilseck, Germany to Gyor, Hungary, demonstrates the freedom of movement within the NATO countries and „is an opportunity for us to work with more of our NATO allies and build those relationships with them,“ said Staff Sgt. Jason Ybarra, of Brighton, Colorado, who is the convoy noncommissioned officer in charge, with Forward Support Troop, 4th Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment.

Throughout the route, the Stryker Regiment Soldier will participate in several community and training events along the way, such as a soccer game, airborne operations, static displays and a wet gap crossing. (…)
Exercise Dragoon Crossing is a part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, an ongoing series of training exercises and events designed to build relationships, trust and interoperability between the United States and its NATO allies.
As the Stryker Regiment Soldiers made their way from Germany into the Czech Republic, the strong bond between it and the United States was evident as some of the locals stood with American flags, waves and smiles on overpasses along the way.

berichtete die U.S. Army Europe.

Bereits in der vergangenen Woche hatte NATO-Generalsekretär Jens Stoltenberg die Truppe vor ihrem Landmarsch besucht. Zusammen mit ungarischen Einheiten – und Unterstützung von US-Fallschirmjägern – soll am Ende eine weitere Präsenz-Demonstration stehen:

During the exercise Dragoon Crossing 4th Squadron, 2nd CR will conduct a deliberate water crossing on Sep. 17th, with Hungarian forces just inside the Hungarian border. Paratroopers from the Vicenza, Italy-based 173rd Airborne Brigade will deploy on short-notice and conduct a parachute assault to secure the site to facilitate 2nd CR and allies crossing the bridge.

Die Reaktion in den Ländern, durch die Dragoon Crossing führt, ist allerdings nicht uneingeschränkt positiv.


(Direktlink: https://youtu.be/bsBCoWtnOwM)

(Foto: Troopers assigned to 4th Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, operate their M1126 Stryker Combat Vehicles during Dragoon Crossing, a tactical road march starting out at Rose Barracks, Germany and continuing through the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic ending in Hungary, Sept. 13, 2015 – U.S. Army photo by Sgt. William A. Tanner)