US-Europe World Affairs

Defender 23, the U.S European Command directed exercise led by the U.S. Army Europe and Africa, started this year on April 22 and was concluded on June 23. The exercise had a wide range of participants of the multinational armed forces from the U.S and 26 other NATO allies and partner nations. 

Some of the main objectives:

• To build a strategic joint forces readiness between U.S and NATO allies and partners,
• To support NATO’s security and deterrence objectives,
• To enhance allies and partners joint interoperability at the operational and tactical level, on the land, in the air, and at sea, 
• Further to enhance the rapid deployment of combat-credible troops and equipment throughout European continent,
• And to bolster the host nations’ capabilities 

Defender Europe was originally established as a defensive U.S. Army Europe and Africa-led exercise in 2020. The exercise had the largest deployment of U.S troops to Europe, with over 20,000 U.S military personnel (Army, Air Force, Navy), and 6,000 National Guard Soldiers, marking it as the one of the most significant exercise in the transatlantic history.

In 2021, the Defender Europe 21 was held with the participation of 28,000 troops from 27 NATO allies, partner nations, and the U.S.

As in the previous years, the Defender Europe 23 had as well several other major integral exercises: 

1. Swift Response 23, from May 7 until May 20 in the Baltic Sea and Mediterranean regions. The participating armed forces in the exercise were: the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom, and the United States.
2. Immediate Response 23, from May 22, until June 2 in the Balkan region. The participating armed forces were: Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Slovenia, Türkiye and the United States. 
3. Saber Guardian 23, from May 29 until June 9. The exercise took place in the Black and Baltic Sea regions. The main participating armed forces were included: Albania, Bulgaria, Belgium, France, Greece, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia and the United States. 

Defender 23 has been the continuation of the United States commitment to Europe. As it was highlighted by the U.S Army Europe and Africa,

“The exercise demonstrates the U.S. military’s ability to rapidly deploy combat-credible troops and equipment to the European theater. This assurance of commitment to our allies deters those who would threaten the peace of Europe.” 

See more on Defender 23  

Acknowledgments,  sources:  U.S Army Europe and Africa and DoD. Article by Catherine S. Schmidt, Editor in Chief.

Dear all our September’s Newsletter is available online. Please view it on the Newsletters page or click on the image below. Have a happy, safe, and blessed autumn. We love you all, Editor in Chief.