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U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawks reach Greece

By Andrew V. Pestano
Eight UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and more than 70 other pieces of equipment from the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, based at Fort Drum, N.Y., arrived at the Port of Thessaloniki, Greece, on Friday as part of a rotational force supporting NATO's Operation Atlantic Resolve. Photo by U.S. Army/Spc. Kelsey Little
Eight UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and more than 70 other pieces of equipment from the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, based at Fort Drum, N.Y., arrived at the Port of Thessaloniki, Greece, on Friday as part of a rotational force supporting NATO's Operation Atlantic Resolve. Photo by U.S. Army/Spc. Kelsey Little

Feb. 28 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Defense said eight UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters reached Greece's Port of Thessaloniki as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve to support NATO allies.

The helicopters, along with more than 70 other pieces of equipment, arrived Saturday to support the U.S. Army's 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, the U.S. Defense Department said in a statement on Monday.

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"This is a great opportunity for interactions between Greek and American soldiers in order to develop capacity, share lessons and hone expertise," U.S. Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt, who visited the Port of Thessaloniki to meet with troops and to talk with U.S. and Greek military leaders, said in a statement.

In Operation Atlantic Resolve, the United States has deployed troops in Europe that will train in Poland, Germany, Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia for the next eight months as a show of force to directly respond to what the alliance sees as increased Russian aggression, particularly after Moscow's intervention in Ukraine and annexation of Crimea.

"This is the most successful alliance in the history of the world. The port of Thessaloniki is a gateway into Europe, and Atlantic armies could not prosper without our allies," U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, the commander of U.S. Army Europe, said in a statement. "Deterrence is about the agility of the United States Army. These helicopters came from Fort Drum, N.Y., and just hours after the aircraft are coming off of the ship they are going to fly away from here and in about three days they are going to conduct an air assault operation in Romania. In such a short amount of time, that kind of agility is central to what we do."

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The 10th Combat Aviation Brigade will continue to arrive at seaports and airports into early March in support of the operation. The Port of Thessaloniki was a primary cargo entry point for the Kosovo Force, a NATO peacekeeping mission established at the end of the Kosovo War, from 1999 until 2001. NATO processed more than 557 ships during that time at the port.

"This is great opportunity to enhance our cooperation," Greek Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Alkiviadis Stefanis said in a statement. "The Greek position offers stability, and we also offer the alliance and the professionalism of our soldiers. We are very proud to have you here and we are looking forward to enhancing our cooperation."

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story described Operation Atlantic Resolve as a NATO operation. It is a U.S.-funded operation intended to support NATO.

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