Headquarters United States European Command has this evening announced the reduction of the DEFENDER-Europe 20 deployment in response to COVID-19.
~
Press Release, Stuttgart, 11 March 2020: After careful review of the ongoing DEFENDER-Europe 20 exercise activities and in light of the current Coronavirus outbreak, we will modify the exercise by reducing the number of US participants. Activities associated with the exercise will be adjusted accordingly and we’ll work closely with Allies and Partners to meet our highest priority training objectives.
The health protection of our force, and that of our Allies and Partners, is a top concern. We take the Coronavirus outbreak seriously and are confident that by making this important decision we’ll continue to do our part to prevent the further spread of the virus, while still maximising our efforts to advance our alliances and partnerships and enhancing our comprehensive readiness to address any crisis or contingency.
As we work through the arrangements with our Allies and Partners, we’ll provide additional updates.
