WEBVTT 00:00.415 --> 00:03.555 - I bet many of you in the crowd, and even us in uniform 00:03.555 --> 00:07.722 were not informed or even concerned about what was going on 00:07.887 --> 00:11.022 in eastern Europe, so, I want to give you a little brief 00:11.022 --> 00:14.439 history as to why we're here today, okay. 00:15.037 --> 00:18.185 Ukraine, excuse me, achieved independence from Russia 00:18.185 --> 00:19.018 in 1991. 00:19.600 --> 00:23.767 Then in 2014, Russia and Russian separatist forces seized 00:23.847 --> 00:27.533 the Crimean peninsula and began seizing government 00:27.533 --> 00:31.700 facilities and territory in the eastern regions of Ukraine. 00:32.288 --> 00:35.095 This, of course forced the commitment of Ukrainian troops 00:35.095 --> 00:37.841 as a response against the separatists. 00:37.841 --> 00:40.585 The fighting in eastern Europe continued, and continues 00:40.585 --> 00:44.316 to date, eventually the Donetsk People's Republic 00:44.316 --> 00:45.649 was established. 00:45.912 --> 00:50.079 To date, while there's technically a cease fire in place, 00:50.402 --> 00:53.966 there continues to be daily exchanges of fire between 00:53.966 --> 00:56.979 the Ukrainian forces and the separatists. 00:56.979 --> 01:00.396 Also, a massive anti-U.S. media campaign. 01:01.376 --> 01:04.796 The Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine is the 01:04.796 --> 01:06.266 name for this training mission being conducted by 01:06.266 --> 01:09.890 U.S. forces and with our allies in support of Ukraine. 01:09.890 --> 01:13.039 The U.S. will continue training and advising 01:13.039 --> 01:16.119 the Ukrainian security forces until at least 2020, 01:16.119 --> 01:17.790 as it's on the schedule right now. 01:17.790 --> 01:21.888 The JMTG-U will continue to oversee the defense and security 01:21.888 --> 01:26.055 training for up to five battalions of Ukrainian army 01:26.627 --> 01:28.960 forces per year is the goal. 01:30.953 --> 01:33.851 The training is focused at partnering 01:33.851 --> 01:36.169 at the battalion level and below. 01:36.169 --> 01:39.074 Building professional and capable Ukrainian units to defend 01:39.074 --> 01:43.074 Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity. 01:43.265 --> 01:45.792 We are also working with the Ukrainian partners on the 01:45.792 --> 01:48.859 development on their combat training center and cadre 01:48.859 --> 01:52.634 at the International Peacekeeping and Security Center. 01:52.634 --> 01:54.862 While other elements are working with the Ukrainian army, 01:54.862 --> 01:59.010 want to review and modernization of their doctorate. 01:59.010 --> 02:03.177 That is why we soldiers and you family members and friends 02:04.572 --> 02:05.703 are here today. 02:05.703 --> 02:09.689 The significant others and friends in the audience 02:09.689 --> 02:13.856 are appreciated for showing up today and supporting this. 02:15.612 --> 02:19.055 The JMTG-U is a strategically significant mission for 02:19.055 --> 02:21.142 the United States and its allies involving both 02:21.142 --> 02:23.651 NATO and non-NATO member nations, 02:23.651 --> 02:26.376 so the multinational effort will contribute to Ukraine's 02:26.376 --> 02:30.543 long-term defense capabilities by providing partner-advised 02:31.084 --> 02:33.336 training teams, or what we call a PATT battalion, 02:33.336 --> 02:36.086 which is what you see before you. 02:39.451 --> 02:41.577 This is an effort to increase the combat capability 02:41.577 --> 02:43.701 of the Ukrainian army through their training 02:43.701 --> 02:46.034 at their combat training center. 02:46.034 --> 02:47.504 You may have heard a lot of us talk about the 02:47.504 --> 02:48.805 Joint Readiness Training Center 02:48.805 --> 02:50.184 or the National Training Center, 02:50.184 --> 02:54.351 that's what we're trying to help them develop in Ukraine. 02:55.308 --> 02:58.868 The U.S. has invested over $600 million for Ukraine's 02:58.868 --> 03:01.334 military development since 2014. 03:01.334 --> 03:03.092 But the investment isn't just monetary, 03:03.092 --> 03:03.925 it's time. 03:04.660 --> 03:06.805 Time from soldiers like these, 03:06.805 --> 03:09.592 time spent strategically developing Ukrainian soldiers 03:09.592 --> 03:12.067 through realistic training scenarios and mentoring 03:12.067 --> 03:16.229 future CTC leaders so we can back out of the mission 03:16.229 --> 03:19.642 and have them come up and take over the entire mission. 03:19.642 --> 03:21.725 This will be the leaders who will be training 03:21.725 --> 03:25.359 for future generations of Ukrainian soldiers. 03:25.359 --> 03:28.221 So, again, thank you for your time today, your attendance 03:28.221 --> 03:31.139 and continued support of you loved one 03:31.139 --> 03:33.017 that's in this formation. 03:33.017 --> 03:33.850 Moving on.