YAVORIV, Ukraine-Professional staff members from the House Defense Appropriations Committee visited U.S. forces here June 29 th to observe current efforts to develop defense capabilities and NATO interoperability in Ukraine.
The delegation teams were led by professional staff members Cornell Teague and Megan Milam. Also attending the visit was Major Gen. John Gronski, deputy commanding general U.S. Army Europe National Guard Affairs.
The delegation was briefed on the ongoing U.S. mission in Ukraine called Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine. JMTG-U is a multinational effort to reinforce defensive skills of the Ukrainian Ground Forces in order to increase their capacity for self-defense.
"It's been reassuring to say the least to see that that effort is under way to get to a sort of sustainable instruction level where the Ukrainians are taking complete ownership of that training aspect," said Teague.
The visit also gave the delegates the opportunity to observe Exercise Rapid Trident 16. The annual exercise includes almost 2,000 personnel from 13 different allied and partnered nations. Its primary focus is on defensive operations, interoperability between partner nations and validation of training units at the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine.
"The word we are getting from our observer controllers and trainers is that they are seeing improvement by the Ukrainians every day throughout the exercise," said Gronski. "I think the future is bright for Ukraine and I think their Army is only going to get stronger and stronger."
According to Teague, the delegates will be visiting other nations in the region during their tour this summer in order to provide a clear picture and share the message about the work U.S. forces are doing in the region.
"I think I can speak for all of my colleagues that are here today that we are very impressed with what we have seen at this training center," Teague said.
A company live-fire by the current unit training at JMTG-U followed by a demonstration of a movement to contact exercise by Rapid Trident participants completed the delegation's visit.
"Our multinational and allied partners are working together to help the Ukrainian Army achieve a higher level of readiness and that's what a strong Europe is about," said Gronski.
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