ZAGAN, Poland -- About 100 soldiers and heavy equipment from Troop A ("Apache"), 4th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, have arrived to Tata, Hungary, to participate in training in support of Atlantic Resolve.
The troops arrived Feb. 22, and their equipment, including 14 M2A3 Bradley fighting vehicles and two M1064 mortar carriers, arrived Feb. 25 at the Tata train station.
Since the military and civilian rails are in the same location, local residents observed the offload of the vehicles from rail cars. This provided a chance for Apache Troop soldiers to show the military vehicles to Hungarians.
"There were quite a few civilians on hand who were curious about the arrival of U.S. forces to the area," said Lt. Col. Chad Foster, commander, 4th Sqdrn., 10th Cav. Regt. "The troopers used the opportunity to build some goodwill and interact with the residents. The Hungarian military who were on site said that Apache Troop was a hit with the locals."
While in Hungary, Capt. Eric Ruff, Apache Troop commander, said his troop will focus on planning and improving interoperability with battalions under the Hungarian 2nd Battalion, 25th Infantry Brigade, to answer how to fight together, should the need arise.
"The Hungarians are anxious for the joint training. We have already scheduled a series of classes with the Hungarians ranging from the introduction of our formations and tactics, leader professional development sessions on communications, and cross training on each other's weapons systems," Ruff said.
"Every exercise -- even the simplest range -- is a joint operation that we want to be evenly manned between U.S. and Hungarian forces," he added.
Initially Apache Troop will remain in Tata for about a month then move to Bakony Combat Training Center in Varpalota, where the unit will complete Bradley crew gunnery, platoon situational training exercises and a troop live-fire exercise before returning to Tata Training Area.
The entire 4th Squadron, consisting of around 500 troops, is expected to arrive in Hungary at the beginning of July to participate in the multinational exercise Operation Brave Warrior.
All total, more than 3,500 soldiers, 80 tanks, 130 Bradley Fighting Vehicles and 18 Paladin howitzers from the 3/4 ABCT are now located in Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Germany, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
The brigade's movement from Poland to seven other NATO countries demonstrates U.S. Army Europe's ability to freely move across Europe, providing the capability to rapidly respond to potential threats against NATO allies.
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