Andrew Tilghman, Military Times –
The U.S. Army in Europe will have a permanent footprint of three fully manned brigades on the continent by next February, defense officials announced Wednesday.
The Army will begin continuous rotations of U.S.-based armored brigade combat teams on nine-month deployments to train with Eastern European allies, officials said.
The armored brigades will deploy from the U.S. with their own gear, officials said. They will add to the current force of two combat brigades permanently stationed in Europe.
The move is part of the European Reassurance Initiative that the Pentagon unveiled in February and marks an increase from the current force of two brigades and more limited rotational presence.
It’s part of the Pentagon’s ongoing response to Russia’s increasingly aggressive military activity along NATO’s eastern border.