Meet U.S. Army Cpl. Alex Rodriguez, an infantryman assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division.
The 10th Mountain Division is in Finland as a part of Defender Europe 2024 and seeks to demonstrate U.S. Army Europe’s ability to quickly aggregate combat power in Eastern Europe. The 10th Mountain soldiers will train alongside the Finnish, Swedish, and Norwegian Armies during the exercise. This is the largest NATO-level exercise since the end of the Cold War.
“I think it's important to have a sense of reliability on both sides,” said the Los Angeles, California native. “I think i’m just learning a lot here not only just more about my job but also learning more about the Finnish and their culture”.
Defender 24 is a demonstration of NATO Allies and partner nations’ ability to seamlessly operate together to maintain a stable and prosperous European and Trans-Atlantic region. This sends a strong message to potential adversaries, deters aggression, enhances stability, and assures Euro-Atlantic publics. Defender builds capability in Ally and partners conventional land forces at the corps, division and below levels through employing a lethal and credible combined land force.
“I hope we continue to become stronger allies and partners with not only the Finnish but whoever else joins NATO,” said Rodriguez.
DEFENDER is the Dynamic Employment of Forces to Europe for NATO Deterrence and Enhanced Readiness, and is a U.S. European Command scheduled, U.S. Army Europe and Africa conducted exercise that consists of Saber Strike, Immediate Response, and Swift Response. DEFENDER 24 is linked to NATO’s Steadfast Defender exercise, and DoD’s Large Scale Global Exercise, taking place from 28 March to 31 May. DEFENDER 24 is the largest U.S. Army exercise in Europe and includes more than 17,000 U.S. and 23,000 multinational service members from more than 20 Allied and partner nations, including Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Gavin Hardy)
| Date Taken: | 05.25.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 05.27.2024 23:31 |
| Photo ID: | 8433495 |
| VIRIN: | 240519-A-WG301-1030 |
| Resolution: | 5217x3263 |
| Size: | 5.21 MB |
| Location: | FI |
| Hometown: | LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 57 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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