U.S. Army Europe
June 20, 2015
Abrams tanks headed to Bulgaria
By Sgt. Daniel Cole, U.S. Army Europe Public Affairs
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany: The first of two M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tanks is headed to Bulgaria to continue and expand the multi-dimensional multinational Operation Atlantic Resolve training in Eastern Europe led by U.S. Army Europe.
The heavily armored tank, weighing nearly 70 tons, was driven into the back of the waiting C17 Globemaster III Air Force aircraft, fitting with just enough room for the accompanying Soldiers and air crew to buckle into the aircraft’s outer seats.
Overall, the Soldiers who guided the track-vehicle made the loading process look easy, working with Airmen to move the tank off of the transportation truck and into the aircraft, ready for take off, in around 15 minutes.
While in Bulgaria, the mission will be simple.
The tanks are there to expand the current training amongst the U.S. and Bulgarian Soldiers, improving battlefield operability, overall knowledge of the machine, all while continuing to strengthen the NATO alliance.
Additionally, troops will be engaging in a live-fire training scenario, firing each tank to demonstrate the capabilities it can procure on the battlefield.
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About us: U.S. Army Europe is uniquely positioned in its 51 country area of responsibility to advance American strategic interests in Europe and Eurasia. The relationships we build during more than 1,000 theater security cooperation events in more than 40 countries each year lead directly to support for multinational contingency operations around the world, strengthen regional partnerships and enhance global security.
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