Just months after bringing home the last of its M1 Abrams tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles from Europe, the Army's heavy vehicles are back in the region as it faces a new but familiar threat.
In the last 10 months, Russia has annexed the Crimea region, secured a vital port in the Black Sea and sponsored a civil war in Eastern Ukraine that has claimed thousands of lives — all within a few hundred miles of NATO's borders.
Russia's military also has taken on an aggressive swagger. In the Black Sea, NATO ships like the U.S. destroyer Donald Cook have been buzzed by Russian fighters. Russian Tu-95 Bear Bombers have reportedly been tracked near Canada conducting missile strike drills within range of targets in the United States, and Russian airplanes have been tracked as close as 50 miles from the California coast — the closest they've come since the end of the Cold War.
"My concern about those kinds of activities is there can be a miscalculation or mistake that could lead to a confrontation," said Lt. Gen. John Nicholson, commander of NATO Land Command. "When you look at the history of warfare, it's replete with examples where a miscalculation or mistake can spin into war."
The tensions amid this Russian aggression has pushed a region that took a backseat to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and saw a drawdown of 10,000 soldiers, including two heavy brigade combat teams, back into the spotlight.
The Army is dialing up its missions in the regions with plans to:
Continue three-month troop deployments of about 800 soldiers, with the likely addition of aviation rotations. Contribute soldiers to a NATO response force of an expected 4,000 to 5,000 troops. Add a brigade's worth of tanks and Bradleys by the end of 2015.
All of these efforts by the U.S. Army in Europe is part of what Lt. Gen. Frederick "Ben" Hodges, commanding general of U.S. Army Europe, has dubbed "Strong Europe."
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