Forces from Albania, Bulgaria, France, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Portugal, Romania, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States will participate in Exercise Trojan Footprint March 4-15 at locations in Bulgaria, Georgia, Germany, Greece, North Macedonia and Romania. Approximately 900 U.S. service members will be among the about 2,000 total participants. Trojan Footprint 24 is a U.S. European Command-approved exercise conducted by U.S. Special Operations Command Europe every two years since 2016, and is designed to demonstrate U.S., NATO Ally and partner nations’ ability to respond decisively to any threat from any direction. Trojan Footprint is the largest Special Operations forces exercise in the European theater in which the U.S. participates.
The Trojan Footprint exercise series has been led by U.S. European Command since 2002. The current focus and format of the exercise began in 2016 with SOCEUR in the lead. This year, Trojan Footprint 24 is under the umbrella of NATO exercise Steadfast Defender 2024. Trojan Footprint 24 will enhance interoperability and demonstrate the capability of ready and postured special operations forces within the European theater. Exercise Trojan Footprint 24 is also part of the U.S. Department of Defense’s Large Scale Global Exercise 24, which is an all-domain exercise series that executes a range of joint multinational military activities and operations. LSGE 24 is designed to demonstrate the robust global presence of NATO Allies and partners, as well as the cohesion of our enduring global partnerships.
Collectively, these activities will highlight America’s robust presence and capabilities alongside Allies, partners and fellow U.S. combatant commands. Allied Spirit 24 is part of the U.S. Department of Defense’s Large Scale Global Exercise 2024, an all-domain exercise series that executes a range of joint and multinational military activities and operations to demonstrate robust global presence and enduring global partnerships. LSGE 24 is a key element of the U.S.’ enduring campaign to continuously strengthen military partnerships worldwide; demonstrate shared commitments to global stability, peace and prosperity; and respond to dynamic security challenges. Large Scale Global Exercise 24 series will incorporate nearly 30 wide-ranging exercises and military activities with discrete objectives.
The U.S. Special Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR) is a subordinate unified command of United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM). Based at Patch Barracks near Stuttgart, Germany, SOCEUR’s function is to plan for use of Special Operations forces within EUCOM’s area of responsibility, employ the forces, and assess whether they are achieving the desired results. SOCEUR conducts these activities as part of the US effort to strengthen the military capabilities and security of partner nations in Europe and counter threats to the US and its partners. The United States European Command (EUCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States military, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its area of focus covers 21,000,000 square miles (54,000,000 km2) and 51 countries and territories, including Europe, The Caucasus, Russia and Greenland. The Commander of the United States EUCOM simultaneously serves as the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR) within NATO, a military alliance.
