LIFTING TOGETHER

摘要

Thracian Summer 2020 was this year's joint US-Bulgarian military training event for airlift assets in Eastern Europe. The traditional US-Bulgarian, bilateral, air-training exercise, known as Thracian Summer 2020, took place between August 7 and 28, covering the entire scope of tactical air transport mission profiles. The US assets were largely represented by the 37th Airlift Squadron of the 86th Airlift Wing, which is based at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. The squadron took three C-130J Super Hercules transports to Plovdiv Airport in Bulgaria, a Black Sea nation on NATO's southeastern flank, close to both Turkey and Crimea. The US presence was complemented by personnel from the 57th Rescue Squadron assigned to Aviano Air Base in Italy and the 435th Contingency Response Squadron assigned to Ramstein Air Base. They provided support to the airdrop and aerial port operations at landing and drop zones across southern Bulgaria during the exercise.