Apache and Black Hawk helicopters of the US Armed Forces have arrived at Alexandroupoli in northern Greece for the NATO Atlantic Resolve training operations in the Black Sea and Eastern Europe.
US helicopters and vehicles arrived in Alexandroupoli on Friday 03/12 in what Greek and American officials described as the largest deployment of US forces through the northern Greek port to the Black Sea and Eastern Europe.
This week alone 73 helicopters and 995 pieces of equipment moved through Alexandroupoli, with the total number reaching 2,000 units at an operational cost to the US Armed Forces of an estimated $4.5 million.
Fifteen Apaches, nine Black Hawks and personnel are headed to Stefanovikeio in Central Greece, where the 1st Combat Aviation Brigade will conduct its winter training. 
US Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt cited the expanding strategic role and importance of Alexandroupoli port for Greece, the US and the region.
Minister Panagiotopoulos, General Floros, General Lalousis, General Choudeloudis, General Papastathopoulos, thank you so much for having us here today in Alexandroupoli. And let me just tell you how delighted I am to be back here with our outstanding partners from the Hellenic Armed Forces.
I also want to thank some of our civilian partners here in Alexandroupoli, Deputy Regional Governor Petrovic, Mayor Zamboukis, and of course, Port President Chatzimichail, for joining us and for your fantastic hospitality, which has made this U.S. presence in northern Greece so valuable.
I also want to say thank you to a key stakeholder in the arrival of Atlantic Resolve Regionally Aligned Forces here in Europe. That is 5th Corps Deputy Commander Van Wagenen, whose team has worked so closely with our SDDC team at the embassy with the 21st TSC, and of course with the Hellenic Army’s 12th Division, doing tremendous work to support the transit of forces through this port, the strategic importance of which is growing every single day.
I could not be more pleased to be here in Alexandroupoli towards the end of what has been, by any measure, a remarkable year in U.S.-Greece relations, building on the fantastic momentum we have and the very important foundation that we have established over the last several years. We have worked through both Republican and Democratic administrations in the United States, and with Syriza and New Democracy here in Greece, reflecting an unwavering bipartisan consensus and commitment to the promise of our alliance.
As my boss, Secretary of State Blinken, and Foreign Minister Dendias made clear when they met in Washington for our Strategic Dialogue in October and signed the amendment to our countries’ Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement, this has been, by any measure, a remarkable year for the U.S.-Greece alliance, but particularly for our defense relationship, which has reached an all-time high to truly become one of America’s strongest defense partnerships in Europe. And what a better way for us to recognize this extraordinary milestone of mutual trust and commitment than to do so in the year when we celebrate the Greek bicentennial and 200 years of friendship between Greece and the United States.
Today, we’re here in Alexandroupoli to mark another milestone for the port that in many ways is becoming the lynchpin of our defense and security relationship in Greece’s north, in addition to its role as a key gateway to the Western Balkans and the Black Sea region, supporting NATO’s commitment to deter and defend.
Our growing program of joint exercises and frequent rotations of U.S. personnel showcase the accelerating momentum of our military and security relationship, anchored in our recently updated MDCA. This MDCA framework has strengthened and advanced our shared defense and strategic interests for more than three decades.
And in this regard, I particularly want to single out the leadership and vision of Defense Minister Panagiotopoulos without whose hard work we would not have arrived at the high point that we have achieved through the updated MDCA. So thank you, Minister.
The MDCA enshrines our countries’ commitment to address the security challenges today and tomorrow through our strategic relationship, while deepening and expanding our partnership to maintain strong, capable and interoperable militaries, further enhancing NATO and coalition operations.
The MDCA is not a ceiling. It’s a platform upon which we can continue to grow and expand our strategic relationship. We are at the peak of this relationship, but we have not yet reached the summit. There is so much more that we can do together to ensure that the U.S. relationship is stronger than ever.
Recent exercises like the Hellenic Tank Challenge and Olympian Cooperation in nearby Xanthi and Petrochori, among many others, show the world that Greece and the United States stand shoulder to shoulder in support of regional peace and stability, and that we are committed to continuing to build and strengthen the trust and interoperability of our forces. Our security relationship with Greece is not just about hardware. It’s about our commitment to an enduring partnership based on shared strategic interests and common values.
I want to share a few specifics about how we are truly making history here in Alexandroupoli. As we welcome the next Combat Aviation Brigade rotating into Greece, today marks the largest transfer of U.S. military equipment through the Port of Alexandroupoli to date. And I want to assure you, Minister, we will definitely be back.
What you see before you, some of which is already on its way to Stefanovikeio, is 736 pieces of equipment, including 46 AH-64 Apache and UH-60 and HH-60 Blackhawk helicopters, belonging to the U.S. Army’s 1st Air Cavalry Brigade from Fort Hood, Texas.
And so to the soldiers of America’s First Team, some of whom I see in the back, I offer you a warm welcome to Greece. And I’m confident that you will come to share my appreciation for the extraordinary hospitality of this country, but also for the quality of our partnership with the Hellenic Armed Forces.
The 1st Brigade is a combat-ready American force that will operate in Europe for the next nine months in support of Atlantic Resolve, providing a strong and persistent U.S. commitment to NATO and our European allies. Through bilateral joint and multinational training Atlantic Resolve builds readiness, increases interoperability and enhances the bonds between allies.
We greatly appreciate Greece’s willingness to host our regionally-aligned forces, which underscores Greece’s unmatched ability to serve as a strategic security partner for the United States in the Western Balkans, Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea regions.
It also demonstrates our iron-clad commitment to NATO and the strength of our countries’ 200-year partnership. And I’m very confident that the elements of the 1st that will be heading on to Volos and Stefanovikeio, working together with our Hellenic allies at the Petrochori and the Litochoro range, will see in the months ahead just how strong this commitment is on both sides.
As we welcome a new Brigade to Europe, we’re also bidding farewell to the 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, whose 27 helicopters and 259 pieces of military hardware are loaded onboard the ARC INDEPENDENCE, which left port just an hour or two ago. I wish these soldiers a safe and speedy return back to their families in Fort Riley, Kansas, and I want to thank them for their service here in Greece and elsewhere in Europe over the last nine months.
The ever-growing volume of military activity here at the Port of Alexandroupoli underscores this location’s expanding strategic role and importance for Greece, for the United States and for the wider region. It further validates the U.S. Army Europe and Africa’s investment in the Port of Alexandroupoli to remove the sunken dredger Olga, helping to improve access flexibility and capacity here at the port. And thanks to this investment and the access to the Greek rail system and superb highways to the north, we are able to welcome the ARC INDEPENDENCE and other large ships to the port, and we hope to welcome many more as this port continues to grow, expand and increase its efficiency.
Over the past several years, I am proud to say that the United States government has dramatically increased our engagement in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, as demonstrated by the many visits that I have paid during my tenure as U.S. Ambassador, as demonstrated by the presence of a broad range of team members from the U.S. Embassy in Athens and our Consulate in Thessaloniki here in Alexandroupoli today, and as demonstrated by the exceptionally high tempo of visits by other senior American representatives to this city.
I am confident that there has been no other period in the history of U.S.-Greece relations that we have had so many Americans here in Alexandroupoli. And each time, as our partners here can testify, we’ve welcomed a new milestone of partnership, collaboration and growth between our countries, and not just in the realm of defense, because Alexandroupoli is also playing an increasingly important role in our country’s shared goals of bolstering European energy and climate security and building regional stability.
I’m proud, for instance, that we have two strong American company bidders for the privatization in Alexandroupoli and Kavala, BlackSummit and Quintana. And as I’ve said in Athens, these American companies are in it to win, but also to build economic opportunity here in northern Greece.
Likewise, the American-invested Alexandroupoli Floating Storage and Regasification Unit is an important example of how this city can serve as a gateway to the wider Western Balkans, strengthening cooperation to diversify energy sources and routes, and to advance our shared climate security goals.
So as we approach the end of a remarkable year of growth in our bilateral cooperation, as we mark the 200th anniversary of the Greek War of Independence and our country’s shared commitment to a safer, more democratic and more prosperous world, I want to thank the Greek government for its steadfast commitment to regional stability and for its resolute support to U.S. and allied military operations.
I’m confident that our countries’ Strategic Dialogue and our updated Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement will continue in the years ahead to provide the robust and enduring foundation for strengthening collaboration as we take our partnership to even higher levels.
That is President Biden’s personal commitment, and I know it’s a commitment that is shared across my government in Washington.
A stronger and more secure Greece is important to America’s interests in this region. Deepening and expanding defense cooperation between our democratic nations not only benefits us, but it makes NATO stronger and more capable. And that’s exactly what we’re doing here in Alexandroupoli today.
