Additional maneuver forces are needed in Europe as Russia continues to
intimidate its neighbors, said the vice chief of staff of the Army June
21.
“There is a significant lack of maneuver forces in Eastern Europe,”
said Gen. Daniel Allyn. “That’s something that we are helping address with our
rotational presence that will be a sustained presence starting on the first of
January … this coming year.”
Russia has been a continued source of worry
for officials. Through the European Reassurance Initiative, the United States is
increasing its footprint on the continent to counter Russia. The Obama
administration requested $3.4 billion in the Defense Department's fiscal year
2017 budget for the effort. Funding will go toward increased presence, bilateral
and multilateral exercises, enhanced prepositioning, improved infrastructure and
partner capacity.
These measures “are a step in the right direction
particularly in a constrained budget environment,” Allyn said during a breakfast
meeting with defense reporters in Washington, D.C. “It’s a fairly significant
resource investment in deterrence.”
U.S. contribution to short-range air
defense and artillery will be particularly helpful for NATO, he said. Army Gen.
Curtis M. Scaparrotti, commander of U.S. European Command and NATO’s supreme
allied commander Europe, is currently reviewing what has been offered in the
initiative, Allyn said.
“I expect that in the coming weeks we will
probably hear from him on what isn’t in there that he needs,” he
said.
Allyn said he was pleased with multinational collaboration he saw
during recent exercises in Europe, such as Anakonda 2016. The exercise, which
took place in Poland in June, was meant to “test the ability, readiness and
interoperability of the Polish armed forces and allies and partners, while
conducting a joint defensive operation on a large scale,” according to a U.S.
Army Europe press kit. It brought together more than 31,000 service members from
24 nations.
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