“Ukrainian troops impress US trainers as they rapidly get up to speed on Patriot missile system” – TTG

Fort Sill, Oklahoma CNN  — The Ukrainian soldiers waved and honked their horns as they drove along a dirt road at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, moving their vehicles into position to defend against a hypothetical Russian missile barrage. These were not ordinary trucks, however. The Ukrainians were manning a US Patriot air defense system, which 65 Ukrainian soldiers have been training on intensively for 10 weeks, instructed by US Army trainers at the base. CNN was invited to witness the training on Tuesday, just days ahead of the Ukrainians’ expected graduation from the expedited course. The training at Fort Sill is the only location on US soil where the US is instructing the Ukrainians on US weapons systems. But video and photographs of the training were prohibited, to protect the identities of the Ukrainians who will be heading home to defend their country against Russian forces within the next month.

The Ukrainians have excelled, officials said. They learned the basics of the Patriot system so quickly that they were given extra, intensive training rarely afforded to their American counterparts completing the same course, the officials added. “Our assessment is that the Ukrainian soldiers are impressive, and absolutely a quick study due to their extensive air defense knowledge and experience in a combat zone,” said Brig. Gen. Shane Morgan, acting Fort Sill and Fires Center of Excellence commanding general. “It was easier, though never easy, for them to grasp the pace and maintenance,” he said. “They are the best of the best in what they do in air defense for Ukraine.”

The system is now set to be deployed in Ukraine in the coming weeks – much sooner than anticipated – giving the country some extra protection against Russian missiles that has been requested since the outset of the war just over a year ago.

On Tuesday, US officials also said Abrams tanks would be deployed quicker than expected, though Ukrainian officials say much more sophisticated weaponry, and lots of it, is needed to force back Russia’s offensive in a meaningful way.

And the US and its allies know that the two Patriot systems going to Ukraine – one provided by the US, the other jointly by Germany and the Netherlands – will not be enough to defend whole Ukrainian cities from complex Russian missile attacks. “A Patriot is not going to be able to defend the entire city” of Kyiv, for example, one senior defense official said. But it will be better than the air defense systems that the Ukrainians are currently using, which can’t defend against Russian ballistic missile attacks.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/21/politics/ukraine-troops-training-patriot-missile-system/index.html

Comment: Quick studies, these Ukrainian boys. Of course, when you’re fighting for the very existence of your country, it tends to concentrate the mind. This does expose a certain Western conceit, that no one other than us can master our sophisticated weaponry. Horse shit! A few years in Special Forces disabuses one of that silly notion. A couple of Ukrainian pilots recently demonstrated that it won’t take long for Ukrainian pilots to fly and employ the F-16. I also read today that France is now training Ukrainian pilots on the Mirage-2000.

In another article on the Ukrainians at Fort Sill, Ben Fenwick does a magnificent job of getting to the heart of the Ukrainian soldiers. I like Fenwick’s style and I like his focus.

TTG

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2023/03/22/us-military-offers-first-glimpse-of-training-ukrainian-troops-america.html

https://www.readfrontier.org/stories/while-covering-war-journalist-saw-father-as-a-young-man/

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9 Responses to “Ukrainian troops impress US trainers as they rapidly get up to speed on Patriot missile system” – TTG

  1. Fourth and Long says:

    For the historical record, TTG. Prigozhin’s latest with English subtitles in which he outlines his idea of what the much anticipated Ukrainian offensive will consist of.

    https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1638939229156769792?s=20
    Prigozhin claims that he knows about the Ukrainian plan to deal 3 blows and liberate the territory to the 1991 borders. He states that Ukraine concentrated 200,000 of reserves in the Donbas, with 80k of them being near Bakhmut. Plans include invading the Belgorod region to be used in exchange, then cutting “L/DPR” into two, and finally, liberating Crimea.

    • TTG says:

      F&L,

      Sounds more like an outline of an alternate history novel he may be working on.

      • Fourth and Long says:

        Comprendé, Senor.

        Just as an eff why eye, Microsoft is helping to make long distance drones in NE Yourcranium? Yikes.

        Inside Ukraine’s scramble for “game-changer” drone fleet:
        https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/inside-ukraines-scramble-game-changer-drone-fleet-2023-03-24/
        At an unassuming industrial estate in northern Ukraine, two former Microsoft executives and a team of engineers are producing military drones that can travel over long distances and carry large payloads.

        AeroDrone, which made crop-dusting drones prior to the war and now supplies Ukraine’s armed forces, makes unmanned aircraft that can carry up to 300 kilograms or fly up to several thousand kilometres in certain configurations.
        (Continues at link)
        ———–
        My knee jerk is that someone or something is playing stock and option games with Microsoft stock but it’s definitely very interesting. Very.

        • Fourth and Long says:

          Error. NE is a typo. I only read “northern” and typed that for reasons unknown to me. Are we living in the age of invisible Ouija board implants yet?

          • lux says:

            “Ouija board implants ”

            yes, obviously, it’s your Ouija board implant vs mine.

            It’s NORTH north from a US foreign and domestic interest perspective of course concerning Europe and Russia. Ask Leith.

          • Fourth and Long says:

            Ok. I don’t get it. Did you mean “it’s North, nor th” or “it snort h, North?” Smartphone keyboards can be devilish. Aha, I get it! “IT – Snort H, Norse” and said with a lisp. Norse >>> North. Wait .. thorn is an anagram of north and Senor is one of Norse. So this is a message from Senor Thorn? Oh my goodness, I am honored. Senor Thorn – how are you? And please tell Senora Rose not to be Sore, with my best wishes.
            ——
            Kindly excuse us. This is invisible Oiuja board implants in an early pre beta release. A nightmare. Do not be alarmed. Our experimental subject has been tranquilized and poses no threat to public safety.

          • jim ticehurst.. says:

            Its the Year 2023…..Now…Everyones Decoder Rings are mere Rusty toys…Along With I Before E..Except When U…P… And Bad Russian Cigarettes….and Putins Old LADA 2101..And Its German Washing Machine…..Unless You Get a Lucky Strike..Ask Red Rocket..He Just Go’s to
            the Park to Play Real Chess..And Forgot How to Speak Russian..Besides He Likes American
            Micro Brews…And Good Conversations…In English… .and the Old Boys Miss the Old Days..and Old Ways…Cough..
            JT

  2. Sam says:

    “The incentives of leaders and their people often diverge. Putin is likely to continue the war in Ukraine—not because it is in Russia’s interest but because it is in his personal interest.”

    https://twitter.com/warinthefuture/status/1639151400914436096?s=21

    Putin can’t end this war in one piece. He’s gotta be hoping that Xi can give him a face saving exit. Putin must be hoping that the Russian army can perform better than what they’ve done in the past year when the serious offensives commence in the next months.

  3. Leith says:

    Of course they are quick learners. Ukraine probably sent some of their experienced air defense troops. Soldiers who have already shot down Russian missiles or drones. It ain’t like going to AIT right out of boot camp to learn about their MOS. These Ukrainian students were just learning how to use a new platform to do what they have done in the past with other weapon systems. They might have given their instructors some insight.

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