For the third time this year, the Black Sea port of Bourgas is serving as the Balkan gateway for the movement of American Army units deploying to and from Kosovo and Macedonia in support of NATO peacekeeping operations there. During the port operation from October 21 to November 1, 32 U.S. helicopters will be fully assembled at the Bourgas port and fly off in support of the NATO-led peace effort in Kosovo.

According to the U.S. Embassy in Bulgaria, the U.S. army frequently moves its equipment in and out of the area to ensure optimum mission readiness and to reduce the deployment burden on any single unit or command.