US forces have trained more than 10.000 Ukrainian soldiers since April last year, and VOA has obtained the first videos showing the US military training Ukrainians after Russia invaded the country.
A Voice of America reporter spoke with three members of the Gator group, who were involved in the process from the beginning.
"It became very large for me, okay, I have a mission, but I'm just not sure how we're going to do this," says Jerry "Blake" Glass, Gator Group commander.
"We literally had a soldier waiting at the border, when they crossed the Ukrainian border, a soldier from the Gator group who was supposed to receive them, fly with them to Germany. He ate and slept with them, went with them to the location for training, he came back, took them back to the border, waved them on and told them to give the enemy hell," said group member Maj. Ryan Hegemeier.
The US military has been training the Ukrainian since the first Russian attack on that country.
The training was conducted at a base in the west of Ukraine, where members of the National Guard from the United States of America (USA) have been training Ukrainian soldiers since 2015.
However, on February 12, 2022, as Russian forces massed on the Ukrainian border, American soldiers were ordered to evacuate Ukraine.
"Honestly, we didn't want to leave them," Hegemeier says. "It was tough. We kept saying our whole mission revolved around supporting them."
"It was one of the hardest days. It was sad and disappointing," Glas explains.
In less than 40 hours, the Gator group was a thing of the past. Ten days later, Russia invaded Ukraine.
"We weren't feeling well. We're not doing anything, but we could help," said a third member of the group, Major Michael Leckie.
However, less than two months into the invasion, while the US was sending equipment and weapons to Ukraine, Glas and his team received a new order.
"We have to figure out how to train the Ukrainians to use all that, as early as this week, and the Ukrainians have to be ready to fire the 777 howitzer within ten days," the Voice of the New Orders explained.
Ukrainian soldiers arrived for training in Germany directly from the battlefield. Hegemeier says he will never forget that moment.
"We saw them coming up to us at the border, war-weary, familiar faces. They were crossing with bags, with everything they owned, maybe with a spare uniform or some personal hygiene items. But it was very emotional to be able to hug those guys." , says Hegemeyer.
Training in Germany has been expanded to include HIMARS mobile rocket launchers and more than a dozen new weapons, including M777 howitzers. Maintenance classes also began, so that Ukrainians could repair their new weapons.
"We had a purpose again and it was great. It really was," says Leki.
An assignment that just a few weeks earlier had been one of the lowest points in these soldiers' careers, became one of their brightest moments.
"What I do today, tomorrow I see that it affects changes on the battlefield. And then I realize that the implications for Europe, maybe even the whole world, could last five, 10, 20 or 40 years later," says Glas.
"Your heart is big, because you know you're giving them exactly what they need. I'm happy to be a part of history. We made a difference," says Leki.
After their mission ended, the next group of American soldiers who took over the training of the Ukrainians began to make a difference.
Bonus video:
