U.S. troops to staff NATO base in Hungary

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U.S. troops to staff NATO base in Hungary
By John Vandiver, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Saturday, October 4, 2008

STUTTGART, Germany — A NATO base to support the airlift operations of 12 nations will be established in Hungary early next year, and about 40 U.S. military members will be calling the station 100 miles west of Budapest home, according to an alliance agreement.

The Strategic Airlift Capability Partnership — which involves the joint acquisition of three C-17 Globemasters — will increase NATO’s ability to transport large numbers of troops and supplies to far-flung places, such as Afghanistan. The town of Papa will host the base to be commanded by U.S. Air Force Col. John Zazworsky.

"It (airlift capability) has been a longstanding alliance shortfall," said Jim Lovell, head of Air Defense and Airspace Management for NATO, noting the possession of C-17s is limited to American and United Kingdom forces. Other nations that are part of the pact will have access to the planes, he said.

The Strategic Airlift Capability Partnership includes 10 NATO nations and two non-NATO members — Sweden and Finland.

The C-17 fleet will be operated by a heavy airlift wing under the command of Zazworsky and a Swedish deputy commander. International crews will be assigned to the base and conduct missions based on national requirements.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=57885