Posted on 11/28/2014 7:38:57 PM PST by Tailgunner Joe
Fort Carson's 4th Infantry Division will lead an American effort to bolster European allies and deter Russian aggression, the Pentagon announced Wednesday.
The post just got a team of soldiers back from Germany where they led a NATO exercise, but the new mission is wider and will last longer.
"This is not going to be a three-week or a month deployment," said a source at the post familiar with the new mission.
The Army hasn't said how long the division troops will be overseas, leaving the deployment indefinite.
U.S. European Command said that a 100-soldier team from the 16,000-soldier division will head to Europe in early 2015 to lead ground forces in "Operation Atlantic Resolve."
"Operation Atlantic Resolve is a continued demonstration of the United States' commitment to the collective security of our NATO allies and support for our partners in Europe, in light of the ongoing Russian intervention in Ukraine," European Command said in a news release. "The operation will remain in place as long as required to reassure our allies."
Russia's eight-month intervention in Eastern Ukraine has heated up this month with reports of increased Russian military activity including more heavy tanks.
European Command boss Gen. Phil Breedlove has been traveling the region in recent days, including a trip to show support for Ukraine.
"The U.S. is committed to supporting Ukraine through this difficult challenge," Breedlove wrote on Facebook on Wednesday. "The international community is imposing ever-tightening economic sanctions on Russia in response to its illegal annexation of Crimea and their destructive military actions and support to forces in Eastern Ukraine."
The Fort Carson soldiers will play a role in deterring Russia by building U.S. ties to allies in the region including former Soviet republics in the Baltic.
Leaders from the division will run a series of training exercises to ensure American forces are ready to fight alongside partners.
Leaders at the post are still developing plans for how they will support the open-ended troop commitment in Europe. Exact dates of when soldiers will leave haven't been announced.
Fort Carson got the call as part of the Army's new "regionally-aligned forces" plan. That concept assigns U.S.-based units to overseas areas of responsibility. In the division's case, troops in Colorado Springs will get specialized training in European languages and culture.
The Army hasn't had a division headquarters stationed in Europe since the 1st Armored Division finished its move from Germany to Texas in 2011.
Pulling the 4th Infantry Division to rotate into Europe has long precedent. The division spent much of the Cold War training to deploy to Europe for battle. Starting in 1977, the division was periodically flown to Europe so its soldiers could train to fight with prepositioned gear they retrieved from storage depots.
The division has been redesigned in recent years and has fewer heavy tanks and artillery pieces.
The changes, though, left the division well-suited to European war, with infantry troops to tackle tough terrain, tanks to fight on open plains and eight-wheeled Stryker vehicles for urban battles.
WWIII
Is it the alcohol? Late hour? Or has reading comprehension hit a new low?
I didn’t write a damned thing about ‘the Puppet’ (my own oft-parroted pet name).
And Americans DO support our enemies, as pathetic as that is.
The powers that be seek to remain in power by any means. War, Crises and terrorist attacks make them stronger because the simple-minded among us can’t say “when”.
Making war with the Russians, when we should be making amends and working them against the Chinese...not driving them together...will be this country’s undoing.
And yet they’ll try to do it anyway so-as not not to be insignificant...to not be the last one without a chair. Because they do a good job of convincing stupid people that they’re ‘on-target’...
Thanks.
Such transformation was in the works long before Obama was even in the Senate. There are arguments for and against it, but it’s not anything Obama did. I doubt he even knows what a BCT is.
If you know what we have and how we fight with it, then that answers your question.
They're sending the 4th ID HQ, not the entire 4th ID. Divisions don't deploy anymore.
Really. And how will Putin respond? Probably with a larger show of force than 100 troops.
I don’t how much the doctrine changed, but we always planned on our superior tanks and air power to retard the Soviet advance. That’s what the A-10s were for.
What do we have, and how do we fight with it?
We’re definitely going the more maneuverable route with tighter air integration along with vastly superior C2 and SA. We have capabilities on those fronts that were unthinkable in the Cold War era. Plus we still have a fair amount of armor both staged in Germany and in prepositioned stocks. Not to mention the overall strength and capability of Russia or, rather, lack of it. I wouldn’t worry too much about the “Soviet hordes.”
We weren’t ready to fight in 1941 either, but once we mobilize, there’s no stopping us.
Good!
Glad I read the poorly written info incorrectly, LOL! :)
We are not interested in trying to appease the mass-murdering war criminal KGB Putin and begging him to “make amends” with us. That is not going to happen, so just forget about it.
Yeah Putin is really good at his “shows” of force. Because Putin is “all show.”
Head to head, we would clearly kick their asses.
If the dollar is still the reserve currency, we could afford to kick their asses.
If the dollar is not the reserve currency, we could not afford the gas for the tanks.
Things change, and sometimes quickly. Wouldn’t it be funny if we lost this war because we were not planning to fight the war before the last war? We are all technology and drones and fast light infantry. The war plan in Europe was suppose to be mobile heavy infantry.
In any event, Putin would take it nuclear pretty fast (low yield tac nukes.). Would MAD still apply?
I just don’t see Obama doing that, and I can see the JCS stopping him from doing something really stupid.
No we don't. Not anymore.
Who is “we”? So simple. /s
On that basis we should all be relegated to the ashpile due to our own so-called ‘leader’. I also never wrote of ‘making amends’ with Putin.
You have absolutely no comprehension of geopolitics, let alone ‘reading’...
We are not driving Russia into China's arms, Putin has rejected us and chosen his Communist Chinese comrades. You want to "blame America first" for everything our Russian enemy does. You are the one who is apparently unable to read and comprehend your own stupid gibberish, I understand you and all your kind perfectly. You can forget about your fantasy of uniting with Russia. That will never happen.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.