YEREVAN. – On April 3, US Ambassador Richard Mills joined Armenian members of the Armenian Peace Keeping Brigade at Zvartnots Airport to send off 36 Armenian peacekeepers to participate in Saber Junction 15, a USAREUR-led Decisive Action Training Environment exercise designed to train a brigade-level unit to operate with allied and partner nations as part of a combined force.

This exercise takes place across Germany, Lithuania, and Romania until April 30. Saber Junction 15 prepares NATO and partner-nation armies for offensive, defensive and stability operations, and promotes interoperability among participants.

Saber Junction 15 participation includes 17 nations and will train more than 5,000 service members. These nations include the following NATO Allies: Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Hungry, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Turkey, and the United States; and the following NATO Partnership for Peace (PfP) nations:  Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Sweden.

The joint Armenian-US exercise is underwritten by a Memorandum of Understanding between the Armenian Ministry of Defense and the US Army in Europe.