American, Russian soldiers train in Colorado

Twenty-two Russian army paratroopers are in Colorado for two weeks of training with the 10th Special Forces Group at Fort Carson, a post outside Colorado Springs.The two nations’ militaries have been conducting joint exercises for years, but this is believed to be the first time Russian soldiers have trained on U.S. soil, Lt. Col. Steven Osterholzer said.

The Russians and Americans are training together on basic soldier skills ranging from firing weapons to making parachute drops, said Osterholzer, a public affairs officer for the 10th Special Forces Group.

It’s the first step toward joint exercises in more complicated anti-terrorism operations such as helicopter drops, he said.

“This is the shake-hands, get-to-know-you kind of thing,” Osterholzer said. “What this is not is a massive counterterrorism exercise.”