Where U.S. soldiers once trained for war in Europe, American troops will train European soldiers for peacekeeping.
Defense Secretary William Perry recalled that hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops trained for World War II duty in Louisiana, which this month is hosting the first NATO-Partnership for Peace exercise on U.S. soil."By developing understanding, cooperation and trust, we can secure peace among our nations," Perry said as "Cooperative Nugget '95" opened Tuesday with speeches by NATO officials, a parade of the troops and a parachuting show by the U.S. Army's Gold-en Knights.
Nearly 700 soldiers from the central and eastern European countries and about 3,000 more from the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada are taking part in the peacekeeping training over three weeks.
The Partnership for Peace is a post-Cold War NATO initiative aimed at fostering cooperation and developing joint peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts with former Soviet bloc countries.
"This has been a truly historic occasion," Perry said. "We have troops from 14 nations that used to be standing in confrontation with NATO training together with three NATO nations for peacekeeping."
At a mock traffic checkpoint, Perry watched U.S. soldiers search a civilian pickup truck, guard a United Nations convoy, then scramble when a terrorist set off a truck bomb in a Hollywood-style bang and flash of fire.
The training at Fort Polk in western Louisiana ranges from clearing minefields and escorting civilians to dealing with snipers and bandits.