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U.S. Commander: Increased Rotation of U.S. Combat Units To Europe Beginning Next Year


U.S. General Philip Breedlove
U.S. General Philip Breedlove

WASHINGTON -- A top U.S. military commander has announced more frequent rotations of U.S. combat units to Eastern Europe beginning early next year, citing an "aggressive Russia" as the main reason for the increase.

The announcement on March 30 by Air Force General Philip Breedlove, commander of U.S. military forces in Europe, was the latest in a series of moves by the Pentagon to bolster units and equipment on the continent, in an effort to reassure nervous NATO allies.

In a statement, Breedlove said an additional armored brigade would be begin rotating into Eastern Europe in February 2017, bringing the number of U.S. combat brigades that are constantly in the region to three. A brigade typically has between 4,200 and 4,700 troops.

The rotation "continues to demonstrate our strong and balanced approach to reassuring our NATO Allies and partners in the wake of an aggressive Russia in Eastern Europe and elsewhere," he said.

Earlier this year, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced a quadrupling in U.S. spending -- $3.4 billion -- for more operations in Europe, under a plan called the European Reassurance Initiative.

Officials have said that this will include stationing some heavy equipment like tanks, combat vehicles, and artillery pieces on a permanent basis in the region.

NATO allies in Eastern Europe in particular have pushed hard for a bolstered military presence, in response to Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

There are about 62,000 U.S. military troops permanently assigned to Europe.

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    Mike Eckel

    Mike Eckel is a senior international correspondent reporting on political and economic developments in Russia, Ukraine, and around the former Soviet Union, as well as news involving cybercrime and espionage. He's reported on the ground on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the wars in Chechnya and Georgia, and the 2004 Beslan hostage crisis, as well as the annexation of Crimea in 2014.

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