US military strength in Eastern Europe may continue to increase

The number of U.S. and NATO troops stationed in Eastern Europe is likely to increase in the coming years as the Russian threat continues to grow, but U.S. military officials are planning to establish a permanent presence in the region as part of an expanding military footprint. We haven’t pushed for adding more bases yet.

About 100,000 U.S. military personnel are currently stationed across Europe, including about 20,000 who flooded into countries such as Poland and Romania in response to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Although the U.S. military is not participating in combat with Russia, it is leading and training Ukrainian troops. To the front line.

An additional 40,000 NATO troops are also stationed in the region to support security operations in Eastern Europe.

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In testimony before the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday, Gen. Christopher Cavoli, commander of U.S. European Command, said the deployment is part of the NATO alliance’s “clear shift eastward” and that it will use infrastructure to build up its forces. said that it is being maintained. More if needed.

“Immediately after the invasion, NATO took the decision to establish a new battle group on a permanent basis,” he said. “By design, everything can scale up to brigade size if needed. And many countries have already chosen to go for it.”

In 2022, the White House announced plans to station the V Corps Headquarters Forward Command Post, Army Garrison Command, and Field Support Battalion in Poland, making it the first permanent U.S. military presence in NATO’s eastern flank.

Cavoli said officials are aware of Russian aggression in the region and plan to continue rotating U.S. forces to Poland and other Eastern European locations for the time being.

But he sidestepped a question from commissioners about making some of these surge stations permanent, instead saying officials were only preparing for possible future deployment changes.

“We see the Euro-Atlantic region facing more threats and dynamic challenges than at any time in the past 30 years,” he said.

U.S. military presence in Europe has become a major point of friction in recent years between Pentagon leadership and former President Donald Trump, who has pushed for deep reductions in U.S. troops stationed there.

But President Joe Biden has vowed to increase support for European allies, not decrease them, and used the Ukraine war to emphasize that need.

Several Republicans on the Armed Services Committee expressed concern about increasing direct military aid to Ukraine, but none suggested a significant reduction in U.S. military presence in the region.