We now have a few US personnel permanently stationed in Poland on the V Corps staff. The majority of NATO combat power & non-national forces along the E flank are US forces on recurring rotational deployments, normally 9 mos in length, usually requiring shipment back & forth of their armored vehicles & support equipment. I've posted the details since it began in 2017.MDlaxfan76 wrote: ↑Tue Jun 27, 2023 4:41 pmSo, 1,000 at any given time...you want them to bring their families, live there for years?old salt wrote: ↑Tue Jun 27, 2023 4:04 pmimo -- NATO should decide the forward force level needed. I think all the EU members, UK & Canada should contribute combat troops. but Germany most of all. I think it should be overwhelmingly non-US force with only enough US presence to enable interoperability & US reinforcement if/when necessary.MDlaxfan76 wrote: ↑Tue Jun 27, 2023 8:09 amThey have 1,000 not 20 based in Lithuania according to your first article. But not where the base to be built is, there it's 20.old salt wrote: ↑Tue Jun 27, 2023 1:56 am Amid much fanfare, Germany has committed to increase their contribution to NATO's joint defense force on the E flank from the current 20 to 4000, to be based in Lithuania ...provided Lithuania constructs facilities to base them, & bears the costs of their presence, ...estimated to take place in... 2026. ...so much for the Rapid Response Force.
https://www.dw.com/en/germany-to-statio ... a-66031051
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ge ... 023-06-26/
They lead NATO's battlegroup in Lithuania. 300 tanks and 1,000 other German combat forces doing maneuver training in Lithuania, 3rd such since 2022? Or ever?
Are you simply saying that NATO should have much larger forces in the Baltics and Poland? Or Germany specifically?
That may be correct.
The Germans only have 20 permanently stationed in Lithuania. The rest of the 1000 rotate in & out. The majority of the brigade remains in Germany.
They have a larger number there now for this show of force exercise. They will return to Germany after the exercise & NATO summit there.
It's a publicity stunt, now 9 years since Russia's first incursion into Ukraine & NATO began bolstering the E flank. How many US forces have rotated in & out since then on lengthy deployments ?
Here's the composition of the NATO battle group currently in Lithuania :
https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_136388.htm
Host nation: Lithuania
Framework nation: Germany
Contributing nations: Belgium, Croatia, Czechia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and the United States
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wi ... 20reported.
Germany’s military, the Bundeswehr, has already been present in Lithuania, which borders Russia and Belarus, for six years with several hundred soldiers. There, Germany leads a NATO battlegroup with currently about 1,600 soldiers, including about 780 from the Bundeswehr, dpa reported. It was not immediately clear what would happen to this unit when the new German brigade is stationed in Lithuania.
Yup, that's why Lithuania would need to build such infrastructure.
You ask, "How many US forces have rotated in & out since then on lengthy deployments ?"...I have no idea, didn't see that in your links, though I may have missed it...do you know? How many are "permanently based" in Lithuania? I'm guessing darn few, but this ain't my field of knowledge...feel free to share info.
As to your preference, I have no argument with the bulk of such NATO forces being non-US, but as I've said numerous times, we like to take the lead in force and weapon deployments. Gives us greater say. And, on balance, that's been a very good thing for the US.
But I have no objection with wanting our European allies to lead in forward deployment in the Baltics...a lot closer to home with their families than for American soldiers.
And from what you posted, sounds like the Germans are indeed taking the lead in this.
The Germans have been in command of the portion of the combined NATO force based in Lithuania. They are finally committing to permanently basing more troops there to fill out the ranks of the brigade.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation ... ic_Resolve
https://www.army.mil/article/238882/v_c ... _in_poznan