WASHINGTON
Shipment of Patriot air-defense missiles and equipment as well as 400 US military personnel to Turkey is expected to be completed end of January as part of a NATO mission to bolster Turkey's air defense capabilities against possible missile threat from Syria, a Pentagon spokesperson said Tuesday.
"Almost half of the equipment and 400 personnel have arrived in Turkey and by the end of the month we expect all of the equipment and personnel to be in Turkey," George E. Little told a daily press briefing.
Little said the mission covered a period of one year, adding that the US would continue to monitor the situation in Syria to determine for how long the two Patriot batteries would stay in Turkey.
NATO allies Germany and the Netherlands contribute to the NATO deployment with two Patriot batteries each.
During the Iraq wars of 1991 and 2003, NATO deployed Patriot missiles in Turkey but they were never used.
Writing by Mert Bezgin
