U.S. Army paratroopers assigned to 2nd Battalion, 503rd Airborne Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade participate in a noncombatant evacuation operation validation exercise in Larnaca, Cyprus, Feb. 15, 2023, as part of Exercise Silver Falcon 23.

Silver Falcon 23 is a bilateral exercise between the United States and Cyprus and is designed to enhance interoperability between both nations’ militaries to ensure they are prepared for any contingency, particularly those involving crisis response and non-combatant evacuation operations.

The 173rd Airborne Brigade is the U.S. Army’s Contingency Response Force in Europe, providing rapidly deployable forces to the United States European, African, and Central Command areas of responsibility. Forward deployed across Italy and Germany, the brigade routinely trains alongside NATO allies and partners to build partnerships and strengthen the alliance.

(U.S. Army photograph by Staff Sgt. John Yountz)