Tennessee soldiers have also participated in major military exercises in Bulgaria sponsored by the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Army in Europe, such as Cornerstone,[3] Bulwark;[4] etc.

[5] The People's Republic of Bulgaria had belonged to the Soviet-Union dominated Warsaw Pact, an alliance of Eastern-bloc nations founded to counter the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Due to loss of numbers, the Warsaw Pact declared itself disbanded on July 1, 1991, shortly before the creation of the Republic of Bulgaria.

Most of the former Warsaw-pact nations were left hanging in the balance militarily; that is, the nature and function of their military establishments were uncertain.

The events that EUCOM proposed were to be the first time Tennessee National Guard units were to conduct their annual training in Bulgaria independent of a larger exercise.

Vigilant Sentry is an exercise which combined efforts of both the 118th TN Medical group, and the 168th Military Police Battalion.

In this event the TN Air Guard provided C-5 Cargo Transports to move the logistical equipment and support personnel from Oregon to Bulgaria.

The event has contributed to the increased adaptability of the U.S. participants when in a new environment and enriched their skill set to cope with a different and unknown cultural context.

On the other hand, the Bulgarian General Harizanov, who runs the National Military University, has conveyed in his letter of gratitude to MG Haston, that his students and NCOs’ marks were dramatically improved and gives the credit to this bilateral event in particular.

Its main objective was to bring together American and Bulgarian militaries and to train together spreading out their knowledge to their Afghans counterparts.

The initial trainings took place in the National Military University in the town of Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria and then continued in the Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC) in Hohenfels, Germany.