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U.S. Army plans to send 150 tanks and fighting vehicles with 3,000 additional soldiers in Europe 120.
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Defense & Security News - United States |
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| U.S. Army plans to send 150 tanks and fighting vehicles with 3,000 additional soldiers in Europe. | |||
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The U.S. Army plans to send a brigade of tanks and fighting vehicles with 3,000 additional soldiers into Europe by the end of this year, according to the top Army commander in the region. More than 150 tanks and fighting vehicles will go to Germany and other countries in Europe as part of the Army’s plan to bolster its presence on the continent.
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 U.S. M1 Abrams in the European training camp of Grafenwöhr |
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“By the end of 2015, we will have an entire heavy brigade combat team of equipment — that’s enough tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles, self-propelled Howitzers, engineer vehicles, on and on, for three battalions and a reconnaissance squadron plus all the enablers,” Lt. Gen Frederick "Ben" Hodges, Commander of U.S. Army Europe, told The Hill. The move is also meant to reassure European allies worried about Russia, which has tanks positioned on the eastern border of Ukraine. The U.S. isn’t moving permanent troops to Europe to go along with the equipment. Troops will instead rotate through the continent. About 3,000 additional soldiers would be deployed between March and the fall. The U.S. now has roughly 67,000 troops based in Europe. “I anticipate that almost the entire 1st Brigade of 3rd Division will come over in March, so you’re looking at probably over 3,000 soldiers that would be part of a brigade combat team like that,” Hodges said. It’s all part of the Army’s Regionally Aligned Forces (RAF) plan to maintain a presence in the region, but at the same time save on costs of permanently basing forces there. Hodges said the Army will present recommendations to European Command by the end of January of where exactly to place the equipment. |
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