The Pentagon plans to bring Ukrainian troops to Oklahoma to train them on the Patriot missile defense systems starting as soon as next week, the Pentagon confirmed Tuesday.
The training, first reported by CNN, will happen at Fort Sill, Defense Department press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters.
The details: The U.S. military “will prepare approximately 90 to 100 Ukrainian soldiers to operate, maintain, and sustain the defensive system over a training course expected to last several months,” Ryder said.
Once fielded, the Patriot will “contribute to Ukraine’s air defense capabilities and provide another capability to the Ukrainian people to defend themselves against Russia’s ongoing aerial assaults,” he added.
Why Oklahoma?: Fort Sill — one of the Army’s four basic training locations, located 90 miles southwest of Oklahoma City — already teaches troops the operation and maintenance of the Patriot system and is also the location of the Army’s field artillery school.
Trimming the timeline: Patriot training typically takes up to a year, but Ryder said the Pentagon is looking at how it can speed up the timeline for the Ukrainian forces.

Thehill