Sgt. Daniel Cole/US Army
YAVORIV, Ukraine -- A Moldovan soldier returns fire during a field-training exercise during Exercise Rapid Trident 2013. The 12-day U.S. Army Europe-led multinational field training and command post exercise finished with a closing ceremony July 19. The exercise is designed to enhance interoperability between forces and promote regional stability and security.
Exercise Rapid Trident 2014 will take place Sep. 15-26 at a training center near Yavoriv, with 1,300 troops participating from the U.S., Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Canada, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, along with NATO representatives.
The exercise, taking place far from contested areas in the east such as Donetsk and Mariupol, will not involve any live-fire, a statement from European Command said. The statement also made clear the exercise was planned long before clashes between Ukraine military troops and pro-Russian separatists took place.
Roughly 200 soldiers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, based out of Vicenza, Italy, will be taking part, according to The Washington Times. The same unit took part in unscheduled training exercises in Poland back in April.