(Photo: USAREUR)
From May 30th to June 1, Polish Parliamentary representatives Arkadiusz Czartoryski (PiS), Iwona Arent (PiS), Małgorzata Wypych (PiS), Grzegorz Długi (Kukiz’15) and Norbert Obrycki (PO) visited Brussels, Ramstein, and Wiesbaden to gain a better understanding of ballistic and intermediate range missile defense, as well as NATO and U.S. led deployments to NATO’s eastern flank.
The tour, co-sponsored by the U.S. Mission to NATO and U.S. Embassy Warsaw, started at NATO Headquarters in Brussels where legislators met with experts on emerging security challenges, NATO-Russia relations, and NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) deployment to Poland.
While in Germany, the group visited NATO Air Command at Ramstein Air Base to discuss NATO’s independent air component and the integration of Allied air power, particularly ballistic missile defense efforts. The group also met with the U.S. Air Forces Europe’s 603rd Air Operations Center, where a crisis response training simulation was conducted.
Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, U.S. Army Europe’s (USAREUR) Commanding General, hosted the group at USAREUR headquarters in Wiesbaden, discussed the ongoing heel-to-toe Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT) deployment headquartered in Poland, and thanked Poland for helping make the deployment a success. While also at USAREUR, the group visited the 5/7 Patriot missile defense battalion to learn more about integrated air and missile defense in the European theater.
