Naval Support Facility Redzikowo Commanding Officer Capt. Rick Gilbert signed Memorandums of Agreement May 10 with the Polish Force Protection Battalion, JW5718 and the 7th Coastal Brigade.

The Memorandum will allow American Sailors and Polish Soldiers to train together in all disciplines of military operations, and is an essential step to improving the interoperability of American and Polish forces, increasing base security, and strengthening relationships and communications between the many organizations involved.

"The Memorandums of Agreement signed this afternoon mark an important milestone in our relationship with our Polish partners," said Rear Adm. Rick Williamson, commander, Navy Region Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia. "These agreements are a tangible demonstration of the U.S. and Polish commitment to NATO's ability to protect itself from the growing threat posed by proliferation of ballistic missiles from outside the Euro-Atlantic area, and allows us to jointly enhance NATO's collective defense."

Representatives from the United States European Command, Navy Region Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia, the U.S Embassy in Warsaw, NSF Redzikowo, the Missile Defense Agency, the 7th Coastal Brigade, the Polish Force Protection Battalion, JW5718, and the local police force attended a two-day Joint Security Working Group culminating in the signature of three memorandums.

NSF Redizkowo is an operational platform that provides key support to the Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System (AAMDS) including security, safety, housing, and core capabilities: fuel, water, and power, which are essential to keep installations running. The installation and its facilities remain under construction, as does AAMDS Poland.

"The agreements signed today represent an immense amount of coordination and communication between the security forces and parent commands of both Polish and American forces," said Capt. Rick Gilbert. "We look forward to productive training and building a 'one team one fight' concept."

As a persistent shore presence for the U.S. Navy in Europe, NSF Redzikowo will cooperate with the host nation and Polish forces to strengthen our relationship in order to increase peace and security throughout the region. Once complete, AAMDS Poland will be integrated into the NATO ballistic missile defense (BMD) infrastructure. The AAMDS Poland is part of the European Phased Adaptive Approach, which will improve collective defensive coverage against medium- and intermediate-range threats from outside the Euro-Atlantic area.

The EPAA is the United States' effort to field capabilities offered as the U.S. voluntary contribution to the NATO Ballistic Missile Defense mission to counter threats from outside the Euro-Atlantic area. This multi-year, multi-phase effort includes Aegis BMD-capable ships based in Rota, Spain; AAMDS sites in Redzikowo, Poland, and Deveselu, Romania; a forward-deployed radar in Turkey; and a command and control network located at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

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