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Approximately 85 U.S. soldiers will train alongside approximately 175 Armenian soldiers during Eagle Partner, a peacekeeping training exercise to be held in Armenia from September 11-20, the U.S. Army Europe and Africa said in a press release on Thursday.

The U.S. troops from the 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and Kansas National Guard, and the soldiers from the Armenian 12th Peacekeeping Brigade will conduct the training at Zar and Armavir Training Areas near Yerevan.

“Eagle Partner is a vital opportunity for our soldiers from our two nations to build new relationships at the tactical level and to increase interoperability for peacekeeping operations,” said Col. Martin O’Donnell, U.S. Army Europe and Africa. “It also builds upon the 20-year relationship that the Kansas National Guard has cultivated with Armenia.”

As part of the Department of Defense’s State Partnership Program, the Kansas National Guard has had a state partnership with Armenia since 2003.

The exercise is planned to prepare the Armenian 12th Peacekeeping Brigade for a NATO Operational Capabilities Concept (OCC) evaluation under the NATO Partnership for Peace program later this year.