Savannah, Georgia (AP) —US soldiers continued to deploy to Europe on Friday, joining thousands already sent abroad to support NATO’s allies as Russia invaded Ukraine.
Inside the terminal at Hunter Airfield in Savannah, about 130 soldiers from the 87th Division Maintenance Support Battalion 3rd Division Maintenance Brigade lined up rucksacks before going out and boarding a charter flight. I started in the gray sky and rain.
Republican US Congressman Earl “Buddy” Carter from Puller, Georgia attended. When they boarded the plane, he was seen “hit” many soldiers.
Battalion soldiers, in addition to an estimated 3,800 soldiers from the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division deployed from nearby Fort Stewart in recent weeks, said division spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Lindsey Elder.
Danton Versio, who served in the Spec Army for three years, said he was looking forward to the first deployment.
“I always wanted to do something really different,” he said. “I feel like I’m helping someone.”
Maj. Gen. Charles Costanza, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, was recently told to prepare for six months abroad, although deployments could be extended or shortened with each development in Ukraine. Said that.
The Pentagon has ordered a total of about 12,000 service members from various US bases in Europe, with thousands more already stationed abroad and moving to other European countries.
The soldier’s mission is to train with the military units of NATO allies, with an indication of power aimed at stopping further invasion by Russia. The Pentagon emphasized that the US military has not been deployed to fight in Ukraine.
Versio, 24, in Orlando, Florida, said he wasn’t worried about joining the mission at all.