Commander of the United States Army Europe and Africa (USAREUR-AF) General Christopher G. Cavoli is paying an official visit to an ongoing, large-scale American-led military exercise in central Estonia Saturday.
Gen. Cavoli is visiting personnel taking part in Exercise Swift Response, which started earlier in the week and has already seen a U.S./British Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) live-firing exercise, and a large-scale jump by U.S. airborne forces, and its preparations, centered on Nurmsi airfield in Järva County.
The commander met President Kersti Kaljulaid during the course of the exercise.
Cavoli also met with Ministry of Defense Permanent Secretary Kristjan Prikk and EDF commander, Lt. Gen. Martin Herem., among other Estonian defense leaders, earlier this week.
Fort Bragg paratroopers head to Europe for first big training exercise since pandemic s start Rachael Riley, The Fayetteville Observer
82nd Airborne Division marks National Airborne Day UP NEXT
Jumping at night into a foreign country while working with international allies and following COVID-19 guidelines is how paratroopers in the 82nd Airborne Division are spending their next few weeks.
Airborne soldiers from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, jumped into Estonia beginning late Thursday night and into early Friday morning as part of a multinational joint exercise known as Swift Response 21.
Swift Response is an exercise involving multiple European partners while showcasing the ability to deploy forces on short notice across the Atlantic.
Paratroopers with 82nd Airborne fly non-stop to jump into Estonia tonight 10 hours ago U.S. Army paratroopers assigned to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, jump into Lithuania as part of Swift Response 2018. This year s Swift Response exercise will be massive. (Army) A large contingent of U.S. paratroopers is expected to jump into Estonia tonight after a long flight from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, that includes mid-air refueling. The jump is one of three brigade-size jumps over the next several days in which a total of 7,000 paratroopers from the United States and 10 other nations will conduct a joint forcible entry exercise at each of the landing sites in Estonia, Bulgaria and Romania.
DVIDS - News - Over the blue waters of the Black Sea: 12th CAB qualifies crews for maritime operations dvidshub.net - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dvidshub.net Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The opening salvo of the Estonian component of a large-scale United States military exercise came in the form of Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) live-firing at an exercise involving personnel from both countries, along with the United Kingdom, Wednesday. Thursday evening saw a large scale United States airborne jump over central Estonia.
The live firing took place at the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) Central Polygon training area in Harju County, part of Exercise Swift Response, which in turn is a subset of the U.S. DEFENDER-Europe 21 exercise.
Exercise Swift Response continued Thursday evening with the airborne drop over Nurmsi airfield in Järva County, which saw hundreds of U.S. airborne personnel making a jump.