Russian Soldiers To Train At Fort Carson

FORT CARSON, Colo. (AP) - Members of the Russian military will visit a Colorado army base this month to train with a dozen U.S. troops.

Twenty Russian soldiers will visit Fort Carson at the end of May, Fort Carson spokesman Lt. Col. Steve Osterholzer said Monday.

It will be the first time Russian military members will train at the base near Colorado Springs.

Osterholzer said the goal is to have foreign troops work together to exchange basic training skills used when working together out on the field. The troops will practice parachute jumps, fire basic weapons, conduct medical evacuations and will mountaineer west of the base.

The Russians will be escorted around the clock by senior ranking U.S. military officers and no classified information will be exchanged.

Reports last month swirled around supposed controversy over the visit. False reports claimed the drills would involve the Russians seizing CIA computers in Denver and taking over the city's airport.

The exercise follows a recent bilateral agreement between the U.S. and Russia that focuses on cooperation in counterterrorism, Osterholzer said.

"The end result of this program is an improved understanding of how other foreign military work," he said.

As part of the exchange program, there are plans to send handful U.S. service members to Russia next year for similar training.

In 2010, American, Russian and Canadian military officers conducted a three-day exercise to test how well they could track an international terrorist hijacking over the Pacific Ocean. The exercise over the ocean involved commanders at the North American Aerospace Defense Command at Colorado's Peterson Air Force base.

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