The jarheads of the Black Sea Rotational Force—or BSRF—have practiced in Georgia, Latvia and Romania. Armenian, Bulgarian, Estonian, Lithuanian and Macedonian forces also trained at these events.

As its name implies, the BSRF is a rotating arrangement that varies in size and scope from year to year. Last year, around 300 Marines spent their six-month rotation training with personnel from 21 countries.

The Marines use Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base in Romania as their main hub. Last year, “MK” also became the major waypoint for troops and equipment heading to Afghanistan.

Every one of these exercises is an annual event with no direct connection to Ukraine, where the government continues to fight Russian-supported separatists. The BSRF has been running this broad training effort since 2010.

But the Pentagon is probably happy to use these annual partnerships as part of its new plan to show “America’s continued commitment to European security,” to borrow the military’s phrase. The Defense Department has renamed this mission Operation Atlantic Resolve.