The United States Embassy in Tirana said on Monday that the training focuses on movement through complex terrain, stealth and reinforcing the unit’s ability to operate undetected while identifying and neutralizing threats.

The exercise is part of the ongoing cooperation with allied forces and strengthens operational readiness, precision, and interoperability in support of modern special operations missions, guided by the principle that no one gets left behind.

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Defence Minister announced via the social media that the U.S. troops arrived in Albania to participate in the “Defender Europe 2023” military exercise, “assisting training of the U.S. and partner countries troops to interoperate and be ready to react in the face of any threat.”

Peleshi said that participation of Kosovo Security Force in the U.S.-led military exercise shows success of this force.

Exercise “Defender Europe” is an annual, multinational, joint large-scale US-led military exercise designed to build preparedness and interoperability between the United States, NATO, and Partner countries.

Exercise “Defender Europe 2023” will be held at several locations across Europe.

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Soldiers from the 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team were welcomed by the U.S. Ambassador Yuri Kim and the Chief of General Staff of the Albanian Armed Forces, Bajram Begaj, as they arrived in Rinas Airport in Tirana.

In her remarks, U.S. Ambassador said that “the United States has spent $35 million in Albania, hiring Albanians from drivers, to construction workers, to cooks and everybody. So this is a big deal and we are looking forward to seeing this continue in the next few weeks. We will have up to 6000 troops altogether here.”

“That’s not all at once, but there will be 6000 different troops to come through Albania and I think at the end of it, they will all have experienced Albania’s very unique and wonderful hospitality, and for military leaders they will see the strategic value of our very strong cooperation, our alliance with Albania,” Kim said.

On his part, the Chief of General Staff of the Albanian Armed Forces, Major General Bajram Begaj said  that the military exercise involves air, sea and land operations and hailed the event as a historic milestone both for the army and the country as it takes place for the very first time in Albania.

“As a host country, we welcomed 276 U.S. Army troops today, who will join the major military exercise that involves three components. It is a complex exercise that involves air, sea and land operations. The today’s land exercise will take place at Bize training site. This is a historic milestone not only for the Armed Forces, but also for the country,” he said.

The new U.S. Army contingent will participate in Defender21 training exercises, helping ensure that the U.S. and NATO forces are trained, interoperable, and ready to respond to any threat.

The ability to rapidly surge combat-ready forces into and across the theater is critical to project forces at a moment’s notice and support the alliance. Defender Europe 21 is an annual large-scale U.S. Army-led, multinational, joint exercise designed to build readiness and interoperability between U.S., NATO, and partner armies.

This year, more than 26,000 multinational forces from 27 nations will conduct nearly simultaneous operations across more than 30 training areas in more than a dozen countries from the Baltic to the strategically important Balkans and Black Sea Region.

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