U.S. Red Arrow soldiers deployed in Ukraine for multinational mission.

Earlier this month, approximately 160 American soldiers with the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team headquarters company deployed to Ukraine as Task Force Juvigny and assumed responsibility of the Joint Multinational Training Group - Ukraine at the Combat Training Center - Yavoriv. Cpl. Jared Saathoff reports on U.S. Army’s website.

Staff Sgt. Michael Blevins, an advisor with Task Force Juvigny, greets his Armed Forces Ukraine counterparts during battalion training at the Combat Training Center - Yavoriv, Ukraine, Nov 13 (Picture source: Spc. Jared Saathoff)

TF Juvigny consists of Soldiers from several units across the Wisconsin Army National Guard; each of the Major Subordinate Commands; Joint Force Headquarters and the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team. They were selected for their unique skills and expertise in a variety of disciplines. "No nation can confront today's challenges alone," said Col. John Oakley, Task Force Juvigny's commander. He added that "the more capable and interoperable our militaries are, the better positioned we will be as a community to achieve our common goals of security, stability, and peace."

Task Force Juvigny, along with NATO allies Canada, Denmark, Finland, Great Britain, Lithuania, and Poland are in Ukraine to aid and support Armed Forces Ukraine's training abilities along with increasing NATO interoperability with Ukraine. "Our main goal is NATO interoperability," said Sgt. 1st Class Brandon McKaig, a company mentor to mortars and artillery, and explained that one of the "challenges has been with equipment interoperability, but our Ukrainian partners overcome this challenge by being very competent and capable."

A T-64 tank from 93rd Mechanized Brigade, Ukrainian Armed Forces, participates in battalion-level training exercises at the Combat Training Center - Yavoriv, Ukraine, Nov 13 (Photo Credit: Spc. Jared Saathoff)

 "We've also been working a lot with our British counterpart and learning from him," said Sgt. 1st Class Kirsten Schultz, an operations battalion advisor, and stated that "there's more than one way to skin an apple and I'm learning a lot about how to better plan, or plan different, for missions back home in Wisconsin."

"My Ukrainian counterpart has been very knowledgeable and competent," said Cpt. Phil Cluphf, a sustainment and logistics brigade advisor, "and he brings a lot of Ukrainian Army experience in logistics and supply to the training center."

The JMTG-U mission is part of an ongoing effort to contribute to Ukraine's long-term military reform and to help improve Ukraine's internal defense capabilities and training capacity. Task Force Juvigny, along with our NATO allies, works with our Ukrainian partners to advise on the training center, cadre, and institutional level development. "I have been blown away by how professional they [Armed Forces of Ukraine] have been," said McKaig, and added "I'm enjoying my time here; I think the job I am doing here is important and one of the biggest things is just building confidence and rapport with the Ukrainian units."

Soldiers from 93rd Mechanized Brigade, Armed Forces Ukraine, participates in battalion-level training exercises at the Combat Training Center - Yavoriv, Ukraine, Nov 15.  (Picture source: Spc. Jared Saathoff)