Article Image

IPFS News Link • Foreign Policy

Back to Europe: The Army is sending more troops, tanks and helicopters to deter Russia

• armytimes.com By Meghann Myers

As the last M1 Abrams tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles shipped out, Russia annexed the Crimea region of neighboring Ukraine and stepped up its aggression in the Black Sea, routinely flying fighter jets low over U.S. ships.

"Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, we have enjoyed a respite from worrying about the basic security of the European order," David Shlapak, an international security analyst at the RAND Corp., told lawmakers in a March 2 House Armed Services Committee hearing. "That respite, ladies and gentlemen, is over."

So after drawing down 10,000 soldiers and closing posts in places like Bamberg and Heidelberg, the Army is stepping up its game — again — in Europe.

"This is about the United States' contribution to NATO's decision to transition from assurance to deterrence," U.S. Army Europe commander Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges told Army Times.


www.universityofreason.com/a/29887/KWADzukm