The US missile defense plans for Poland may have been greatly down-graded, but it appears that offering these PATRIOT soldiers to train the Poles has been the comprimise worked out to continue to develop the defense relationship between the two countries:

Soldiers will soon be on their way to Poland to provide training for the U.S. Army Patriot Missile, according to U.S. Army Europe.

A specific unit has not been designated for the mission but about 100 soldiers are expected to deploy during the early part of 2010, said Maj. Peggy Kageleiry, a USAREUR spokeswoman.

As part of an agreement between the two countries, soldiers will rotate to Poland on a regular basis but the length of those rotations is still being planned, according to Kageleiry.

“U.S. Army Europe will help the Polish Armed Forces develop their air and missile defense capabilities,” she said.

“Considering the cooperative training we already do with the Polish Armed Forces, this Patriot training program is just another extension of that effort.”

Though USAREUR didn’t name the unit, the likely candidate to conduct the mission is the Army’s only remaining Europe-based Patriot unit, the 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery based at Kaiserslautern.

The small number of troops has been described by critics as merely a diplomatic gesture to Poland following President Barack Obama’s decision to move away from a larger missile defense plan that was being pursued by the Bush administration.  [Stars & Stripes]