U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to the Bravo Company, 2-1 General Support Aviation Battalion (GSAB), 1st Aviation Brigade out of Fort Riley, Kansas participated in a static display event with the Finnish Air Force near Rovaniemi, Finland, May 21, 2024. The aviation company is in Finland as a part of Defender Europe 2024, an annual exercise that seeks to demonstrate U.S. Army Europe’s ability to quickly aggregate combat power in Eastern Europe.
DEFENDER is the Dynamic Employment of Forces to Europe for NATO Deterrence and Enhanced Readiness, and is a U.S. European Command scheduled, U.S. Army Europe and Africa conducted exercise that consists of Saber Strike, Immediate Response, and Swift Response. DEFENDER 24 is linked to NATO’s Steadfast Defender exercise, and DoD’s Large Scale Global Exercise, taking place from 28 March to 31 May. DEFENDER 24 is the largest U.S. Army exercise in Europe and includes more than 17,000 U.S. and 23,000 multinational service members from more than 20 Allied and partner nations, including Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. (U.S. Army video by Pfc. Gavin Hardy)
![Static Display]()
