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Video by Sgt. Mariah Gonzalez

Interviews: Sky Soldiers look forward to Swift Response 2025

173rd Airborne Brigade

May 15, 2025 | 5:22

U.S. Army paratroopers assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade share what motivates them to jump and what they’re looking forward to during exercise Swift Response 2025 at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, May 15, 2025.

DEFENDER 25 brings U.S. troops together with forces from 29 Allied and partner nations to build readiness through large-scale combat training from May 11-June 24, 2025. DEFENDER 25 increases the lethality of the NATO alliance through large-scale tactical training maneuvers and long-range fires, builds unit readiness in a complex joint, multinational environment and leverages host nation capabilities to increase the U.S. Army’s operational reach. During three large-scale combat training exercises—Swift Response, Immediate Response, and Saber Guardian—Ally and partner forces integrate and expand multi-domain operations capability, demonstrating combined command and control structures and readiness to respond to crisis and conflict.

As the U.S. Army’s only Airborne Brigade forward-stationed in Europe, the 173rd serves as the Contingency Response Force for U.S. European Command—able to deploy on short notice to deter aggression and defend NATO’s eastern flank. Swift Response, linked to Lithuania’s national exercise Iron Wolf, validated multinational warfighting readiness with combined air-land operations and medical support.

(U.S. Army video by Sgt. Mariah Y. Gonzalez)