Vyskov, South Moravia, Sept 14 (CTK) – The first part of the U.S. military convoy heading for NATO’s Brave Warrior exercise in Hungary left the Czech Republic and entered Slovakia tonight, Czech General Staff spokesman Jan Sulc has told CTK.
The U.S. troops driving from their home base in Vilseck, Bavaria, spent one night in the Vyskov military barracks.
The convoy of 150 vehicles and 550 troops is driving in six parts.
The last part is to leave Vyskov within one hour, Vyskov Military Academy spokeswoman Monika Novakova said earlier yesterday.
When the convoy entered Czech territory, the soldiers were only awaited by a police patrol and a few journalists. Further along its route, groups of people made pictures and videos of the U.S. soldiers.
The Czech police have not had to solve any problems related to the U.S. military transit so far.
The convoy’s Czech route leads from Rozvadov via Plzen, past Prague and Brno to Vyskov and the easternmost border-crossing in Lanzhot, where the convoy is leaving the country for Slovakia.
On September 9-10, an advance unit crossed the Czech Republic to prepare the route for the main part of the U.S. convoy.
At the Slovak border tonight, dozens of the convoy’s supporters and opponents waited.
The NATO opponents carrying Slovak and Russian flags threw nuts and other small things at the American soldiers and vehicles. One of them, former Czechoslovak politician Jan Carnogursky, said the convoy was Washington’s military signal against Russia.
The opponents, who included members of the far-right party Our Slovakia, originally planned to block the convoy’s way, but the Slovak police forced them to clear the motorway.
A similar U.S. convoy drove through the Czech Republic at the end of March and beginning of April. The U.S. troops made several stops on their way and were welcomed by many locals then. In connection with the Russian involvement in the fighting in eastern Ukraine, the convoy was seen as a U.S. message of support for the East European allies.
