US, Russia to conduct joint Atlas Vision exercise in Europe this week

The United States and Russia will conduct in Europe this week the Atlas Vision - 2013 joint military exercise, the press service of the US Army Command in Europe told Itar-Tass. According to the US State Department, successful missions for the exercise planning were held in March and May. Now it is planned to proceed to the bilateral exercise, which will involve land forces. The US Army Command in Europe specified that the exercise will consist of two parts. The first will be a command post exercise at the battalion level. The second - field manoeuvres at the platoon level. Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces General Nikolai Makarov stated in an interview with Itar-Tass after a visit to the United States last year that the goal of the Atlas Vision exercise is to “drill interaction of the two countries’ army units that take part in peacekeeping operations under the UN auspices.” According to some reports, the exercise will take place in the German town of Auerbach, in the period from 18 to 22 July.