GRAFENWOEHR, Germany---- Aviation Soldiers with the 4-3 Assault Helicopter Battalion from Hunter Army Airfield, Ga. arrived at Germany's Nuremberg Airport, March 14, to participate in Operation Atlantic Resolve, in Eastern Europe.
"We're here to contribute to a strong Europe, assure our NATO allies and deter threats," said Maj. Patrick Wilde, executive officer, 4-3 Assault Helicopter Battalion.
The battalion will be tasked with missions in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve.
"We'll spread out," Wilde said. "We are supporting Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria."
Soldiers in the battalion are eager to begin working with their European allies.
"I'm really excited to get to work with them," said Spc. Sapna N. Patel, an information technology specialist with the battalion's Headquarters and Headquarters Company.
"In aviation, it's really important that everything flows together," Patel said. "This will be a team-building experience and, also, I'll get more experience with my job."
That on-the-job experience will be key to the Soldiers in their future operations, explained Staff Sgt. Carlos M. Cruz, a platoon sergeant who supervises aircraft crew members with Bravo Company, 4-3 AHB.
"We have a lot of brand new recruits (who) we're pushing into training for familiarity with the aircraft and operations."
The young Soldiers will practice alongside their allied counterparts on the key tasks they'll be called on to perform if deployed in combat.
"These (Soldiers) make sure all the preflights get done, check that all the equipment for the mission is accounted for, that all the crew members are ready," Cruz said.
The battalion will have around 400 Soldiers deployed across Europe. They will be operating 26 helicopters on missions ranging from medical evacuation to air assault operations to airborne insertions.
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