The first part of the American convoy, which will pass through the Czech Republic as part of the alliance exercise, will arrive in Rozvadov on Tuesday evening.
In total, this week will see a total of six convoys carrying around 1,500 troops and 700 pieces of equipment pass through Czech territory. The forces are expected to return from Slovakia to Germany in the second half of March.
The convoy will be divided into six parts and each of them will be subsequently divided into five smaller groups, which will travel along Czech motorways with a time gap for the sake of traffic flow.
The first part is scheduled to arrive at the Rozvadov border crossing on Tuesday at 19:00, but in the past the soldiers have often faced delays. The vehicles are scheduled to take a technical break in Ostrov near Stříbro.
In the morning they will arrive in Rančířov in the Jihlava region, where the Czech army has prepared a tent camp for them. After a rest, they will start their journey again in the evening.
They will leave the Czech Republic at the Břeclav border crossing. Each part of the convoy will spend a maximum of 48 hours in the Czech Republic.
The soldiers will be carrying Stryker wheeled armoured fighting vehicles or HMMWVs (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle), and will also be equipped with logistical support equipment such as tankers and sleepers.
The Military Police, in cooperation with the State Police, will also supervise the movement of the convoy. “In total, around 250 military police officers will be involved in securing the passage, with around 85 in action daily with approximately 30 vehicles,” the army said on its website.
The police will always take over the convoy in Rozvadov, where they will arrange with its representatives, for example, for breaks, refuelling or communication between vehicles. Military police officers will also remeasure the US vehicles because of height restrictions on the D1 motorway. Each part of the convoy will be accompanied by three Military Police vehicles.
Soldiers and equipment of the US army have moved through the Czech Republic several times in the past. For example, a convoy of about 500 Americans with more than 100 vehicles passed through the Czech Republic in the spring of 2015 on its way from an exercise in the Baltics to its home base in Germany.
More numerous convoys followed in subsequent years. In 2018, for example, some 400 vehicles and 1,000 US troops passed through the Czech Republic. Most recently, about 700 soldiers and 150 pieces of US Army equipment passed through the Czech Republic last May and June.
