 Secretary of the Army John McHugh commended the efforts of the 173rd Airborne Brigade as he spoke with paratroopers of the 1st Battalion 503rd Infantry Regiment who are in Lithuania conducting airborne operations with the Lithuanian Iron Wolf Mechanized Brigade as part of expanded U.S. Land Force training on May 18, 2014. Secretary McHugh expressed the critical nature of this mission as he spoke with American and Lithuanian troops in the field, noting this was a valuable opportunity to work with our allies and to learn from each other. The 173rd Airborne Brigade sky soldiers are in Lithuania participating in Exercise Black Arrow, an exercise designed to increase NATO interoperability between the two forces. At the request of host nations, U.S. Army Europe deployed forces to Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, and Estonia as means of reinforcing the U.S. commitment to the security of our allies. This is Staff Sergeant Kimberly Braddock of the Michigan National Guard reporting for the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Lithuania.