NATO Defense Chiefs Okay Boosting Ground Forces Presence Near Russia’s Borders

• NATO Defense Chiefs Okay Boosting Ground Forces Presence Near Russia’s Borders
  by PETER KORZUN | 16.06.2016, http://www.strategic-culture.org/  
  On June 14, NATO’s defense ministers formally approved the deployment plan of four multinational battalions to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Each country will be reinforced by a battalion. The battalions will be under the orders of NATO commanders, and formally deployed on a rotational basis rather than being based permanently in the host countries, but coverage will be continuous and the presence will be maintained permanently.
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  Great Britain, Germany and the United States advanced plans on June 14 to spearhead a new NATO force on Russia’s border from next year. The three NATO’s biggest military powers said they would each command a combat battalion across the eastern flank. The new force is expected to total about 4,000 soldiers, with contributions from other allies. Germany is likely to deploy to Lithuania, the United States to Poland and Britain to Estonia, on a six-to-nine month rotating basis. Canada is expected to command a fourth battalion in Latvia. Other NATO nations will eventually take command responsibilities. France is also sending a company of about 250 troops. The battalions are part of a wider NATO deployment to be approved at the Warsaw summit on July 8-9, which will involve troops on rotation, warehoused equipment and a highly mobile force backed by NATO’s 40,000-strong rapid response force.
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  NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said at the June 14 meeting that the alliance is considering a Romanian offer to command a multinational brigade which could coordinate alliance training and possibly play a deterrent role. Romania has offered to provide the headquarters for the brigade and is expected to lead the formation.
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  In addition, the United States will increase its military presence in Eastern Europe by deploying an armored brigade. According to the fiscal year 2017 European Reassurance Initiative budget proposal, the US military spending in Europe will be more than $3.4 billion – far more than the $786 million in the current budget. The Army will repair and upgrade its already pre-positioned arms and place them at sites in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. Those stocks will be sufficient for another armored brigade to fall in on. The rotating brigade will bring its own equipment. The move will add hundreds of the Army’s most advanced weapons systems to beef up the US European Command’s combat capability. It will also free up an entire brigade’s worth of weapons currently being used by US forces training on the continent to enable more American troops to be rushed in on short notice. The rotation period will be limited to nine months. An armored brigade combat team comprises about 4,200 troops and includes approximately 250 tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles and Paladin self-propelled howitzers, plus 1,750 wheeled vehicles. The proposed budget increase includes a $1.8bn outlay on 45,000 GPS-guided smart bombs and laser-guided rockets to boost the forces precision strike capability.
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