Preliminary research for the location of the next base is taking place in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria.
Within the year, the US will rotate three thousand soldiers in Europe in addition to tanks and armored vehicles according to the Regionally Aligned Force. The concept of armored force in Europe has lost strength in recent years, with the suppression of the two heavy brigades, in 2013, deployed in Germany. However, the crisis in Ukraine has once again brought about the need for an armored combat force in Europe.
Until recently, the concept of projection in Europe was seen as a sort of advanced outpost, protected by the possible front, capable of sustaining the rotation of a battalion at a given time.
The new plan provides for the expansion of the armored combat brigade support level (BCT). The American standard armored brigade is based on the M1 Abrams and M2 Bradley tanks as well as a series of infantry fighting vehicles.
An armored brigade is composed of seven battalions: three combined, one of cavalry, one of artillery, genius and a support battalion.
The Abrams strength of a 'BCT' is composed of 90 wagons, 90 Bradley and 112 M113 vehicles. The new European armored brigade should be fully operational by the end of the 2015.
The next rotating European brigade will be part of a global command strategy that aims to discourage Russian aggression, reassure its allies in the east and strengthen training partnerships with allies. In spring, the Vicenza-based 173a Airborne Brigade will field a battalion in western Ukraine to train the country's national guard.
Franco Iacch
(photo: US Army)
