YAVORIV, Ukraine - Gen. Mark A. Milley, chief of staff of the Army, visited here, Oct. 29, to observe the program of instruction of Fearless Guardian.
Fearless Guardian is the name given to the U.S. training and equipping of the National Guard of Ukraine under the Congress-approved Global Security Contingency Fund-Ukraine. Fearless Guardian involves approximately 300 paratroopers, from the U.S. Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade.
The training is focused at partnering at the battalion-level and below and building a professional and capable Ukrainian National Guard to defend Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
"For the U.S. Army, this is really important for us because one of the things we are going to do, and we have been doing for many years now and will continue to do is train, advise, and assist other nation's armies so that they can protect themselves and maintain the stability of their own countries," said Milley. "It has direct impact on U.S. national security."
During his visit, Milley awarded and presented coins to soldiers with the Ukrainian national guard and paratroopers with the 173rd Abn. Bde.
Milley observed a Ukrainian national guard platoon, under the supervision of soldiers from the Lithuanian Armed Forces and paratroopers from the 173rd Abn. Bde., conduct live-fire training to demonstrate their skills on how to conduct movement under fire.
"The Ukrainian army has a lot of combat experience now," Milley said. "However, what they want and what we want to help them achieve is a higher level of training and skill in combined arms, and that's a part of what you're seeing here on this live-fire."
Paratroopers from the 173rd Abn. Bde. are in Ukraine on their third rotation of Fearless Guardian, which is schedule to last through November.
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