MilitaryPhotos on DeviantArthttps://www.deviantart.com/militaryphotos/art/C-130-Hercules-245404450MilitaryPhotos

Deviation Actions

MilitaryPhotos's avatar

C-130 Hercules

Published:
26.6K Views

Description

Staff Sgt. Travis Surber, a native of Franklin County, Va., and a paratrooper with the 173rd Brigade Combat Team’s Battle Company of the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, parachutes out of a C-130 Hercules Transport Aircraft and into the Ukraine sky. This marks the first time the “Sky Soldiers” of the 173rd have jumped in Ukraine and they’ll be training and conducting multinational airborne operations, a situational training exercise and a field training exercise here from through Aug. 5 as part of Rapid Trident 2011. Rapid Trident 2011 is a U.S. Army Europe led, multi-national exercise taking place at the International Peacekeeping and Security Center in Yavoriv, Ukraine. It is designed to promote regional stability and security, strengthen international military partnering and foster trust while improving interoperability between participating nations. Rapid Trident 2011 involves approximately 1,600 personnel. In addition to the U.S. Army Europe and Ukraine, participants include: Latvia, Belarus, Moldova, Slovenia, Canada, Poland, Serbia, the U.K., Lithuania, Estonia, California and Utah National Guard and U.S. Air Force Europe. Rapid Trident supports interoperability among Ukraine, the United States, NATO and Partnership for Peace member nations. This exercise will help prepare participants to operate successfully in a joint, multinational, integrated environment with host-nation support from civil and governmental agencies. Rapid Trident is a part of U.S. European Command’s Joint Training and Exercise Program, designed to enhance joint combined interoperability with allied and partner nations. The exercise also supports Ukraine’s Annual National Program to achieve interoperability with NATO and commitments made in the annual NATO-Ukraine work plan. The 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team is one of the U.S. Army’s most highly decorated units having particularly distinguished itself during the Vietnam War and having produced 15 Congressional Medal of Honor recipients including Staff Sgt. Salvatore Giunta, the first living recipient of the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War.
U.S. Army Europe
Date Taken:07.26.2011
Location:YAVOROV, UA
Image size
1280x720px 461.6 KB
© 2011 - 2024 MilitaryPhotos
Comments60
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
MajorO's avatar
great shot, 3 questions.
1  How did you take it?
  2   I remember the 173rd being a regiment. when did t become a brigade ?
   3  My memory is fuzzy.  I was in the 502nd part of the 101st AB. (1972)  wasn't the 503rd part of the 82nd AB? and how did it become part of the 173rd? Just wondering.