US to boost army presence in E. Europe

Move aimed at allaying allies’ fears against Russian ‘threats’

washington — US officials say the Pentagon will be deploying an armoured brigade combat team to Eastern Europe next February as part of the ongoing effort to rotate troops in and out of the region to reassure allies worried about threats from an increasingly aggressive Russia.

The officials said the Army will announce on Wednesday that it will be sending a full set of equipment with the brigade to Europe. Earlier plans had called for the Pentagson to rotate troops into Europe, where they would have used a set of training equipment prepositioned there.

The new proposal would remove the pre-positioned equipment, send it to be refurbished, and allow the US forces to bring more robust, modern equipment in with them when they deploy. There are about 4,500 soldiers in an armoured brigade, along with dozens of heavy vehicles, tanks and other equipment. Wednesday’s announce- ment is also aimed at easing worries in Europe, where allies had heard rumblings about the pre-positioned equipment being removed and feared the US was scaling back support.

Officials also said the Army would send additional communi- cations equipment to Europe so that headquarters units could have the radios, computers and other equipment needed to work with the brigades. The changes underscore promises made by defense leaders to protect Europe and send a message to Moscow that any aggression against allies would be unacceptable.

And they provide more details to budget proposals rolled out earlier this year that quadrupled military aid to Europe and called for a more constant rotational presence. Over the past nine months, during trips to Eastern Europe and in Nato meetings, Defence Secretary Ash Carter has pledged additional military support for the region. In Feb- ruary, the Pentagon announced it would seek $3.4 billion in the 2017 budget to increase troop rotations and military exercises in Europe. The plan essentially calls for the constant presence of a third brigade in Europe. Two are already stationed in Europe — a Stryker brigade and an airborne brigade. And now a brigade will rotate in and out, likely every nine months.

The 2016 budget included about $780 million for the socalled European reassurance initiative, which covered the costs of sending hundreds of United States troops in and out of Europe for short deployments, military exercises and other training missions. —