We have seen the amount of bilateral and multilateral training U.S. Forces conduct with their SAF counterparts – both here in Slovenia and abroad – increase substantially in recent years. DEFENDER 21 and linked exercises are truly a reflection of this expanded level of engagement, with Slovenia playing an integral part in training across domains this year, with land forces engaging at Poček, air operations being staged out of Cerklje ob Krki, the Port of Koper demonstrating its critical role in Allied military mobility, and by participating in cyber defense exercise Locked Shields for the first time as we work together to build capacity to counter current and future threats.
“Since 2004, Slovenia has been an exporter of security and a peace generator. And we can comfortably say that when we take a look at this exercise and we take a look at the security that exists in this nation, in this region, in Europe. It is powerful.” – 🇺🇸@US_EUCOM GEN Wolters pic.twitter.com/VQjW3fBpL8
— US Embassy Ljubljana (@USEmbassySLO) May 20, 2021