The Defender Europe 20 exercises which recently got underway are the largest in 25 years are taking place at a time when NATO is facing criticism on both sides of the Atlantic over its role and effectiveness.
The U.S. will deploy 20,000 service members to join personnel from other NATO member countries including France, Spain, Italy, Germany and Britain for the exercises.
Most of the drills will take place in May and June, across Germany, Poland and the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania which share a border with Russia.
In November, French President Emmanuel Macron described the alliance as “brain dead” while U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized European countries for not contributing enough to NATO’s budget.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the large scale exercises were a reminder of the strength of the alliance.
„Defender Europe is the biggest deployment of US troops to Europe in over 25 years and shows the strong US commitment to NATO and to the freedom and security of Europe, „he said.
„Defender Europe is not directed against any particular country. This defensive exercise demonstrates the ability to rapidly move a large force from the United States to Europe to help protect other NATO Allies, if needed.”
But Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told official government newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta in an interview this month that “naturally, we will react” to the exercises.
U.S.-based equipment will leave from ports in four states and arrive in six European countries, supported by tens of thousands of service members and civilians, the U.S. Army Europe said
NATO Allies and Partner nations, Georgia and Finland will also train, build readiness and deter potential threats. In total more than 20,000 pieces of equipment will be moved to Europe.
Stars and Stripes reported “the Army’s logistical know-how will be tested on a scale not seen in Europe since the Cold War, when the Army routinely moved thousands of troops back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean for major exercises.”
“It will be a dead sprint to move heavy equipment; deploy personnel; convoy wheeled vehicles; and get everyone enough food, water, and ammunition across several European countries,” Lt. Gen. Duane Gamble, the Army’s deputy chief of staff for logistics was quoted as saying.
Convoys will travel a total of 4,000 kilometers across the continent to preposition equipment and other resources, ahead of the exercise proper.
