Photo By Staff Sgt. Alexander Skripnichuk | U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt (right), discusses the capacity building...... read more read more
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YAVORIV, Ukraine – Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt, Canadian Ambassador to Ukraine Roman Waschuk and several other distinguished guests visited the International Peacekeeping and Security Center June 3, 2015, in Yavoriv, Ukraine, to observe the progression of Fearless Guardian training.
Fearless Guardian is the name for the Congress-approved, Departments of State and Defense initiative under the Global Security Contingency Fund-Ukraine. The U.S. military and the training they provide are at the request of the Ukrainian government. Paratroopers from the U.S. Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade are in Ukraine for the first of several planned rotations to train Ukraine's newly-reformed national guard as part of Fearless Guardian, which is scheduled to last six months.
The visitors were escorted through an urban-operations training area and witnessed soldiers from the Ukrainian national guard's 3029th Regiment and paratroopers conduct house-clearing procedures.
“We started with individual soldiers skills such as basic marksmanship,” said Capt. Matthew Carpenter, commander of Troop B, 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade. “Now we are mastering group tactics on the squad, platoon and company level.”
The dignitaries held a press conference explaining the importance of Fearless Guardian, the significance of the U.S.-Ukrainian partnership and its support for maintaining the sovereignty of Ukraine.
“This training program is a concrete manifestation of the American commitment to stand with the Ukrainian people as they seek to defend their sovereign territory,” said Pyatt. “This [Fearless Guardian] is in support of the implementation of the Minsk agreements.”
Yatsenyuk took the time to speak on the long-term impacts of the training taking place.
“We are not only training strong soldiers and a strong national guard,” said Yatseyuk. “We are training strong minds and future leaders.”
He went on to say that Fearless Guardian strengthens Ukraine's abilities to uphold its diplomatic policies.
“We are not only defending Ukraine, we are defending the borders of Europe,” Yatsenyuk stated. “Diplomatic solutions are meaningless without a strong army to back them up.”
Pyatt expressed his pride in the work the paratroopers and the guardsmen have accomplished since the beginning of Fearless Guardian.
“I am proud to see the progress of the partnership and progress that has been achieved between the Americans in the 173rd Airborne Brigade and the Ukrainian national guard.”
| Date Taken: | 06.03.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 06.03.2015 15:10 |
| Story ID: | 165359 |
| Location: | YAVORIV, UA |
| Web Views: | 1,057 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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