US to deploy more troops to Lithuania for an extended period

(Sept. 26)The Defense Ministry of Lithuania has announced a new deployment of US troops and equipment to the Baltic country. The deployment will consist of US troops, tanks and fighting vehicles and will be an extended mission.

The deployment

A recent article reports on the deployment: "More than 500 U.S. soldiers and dozens of tanks and heavy fighting vehicles will deploy to Lithuania in the coming days on an extended mission to bulk up NATO’s eastern flank, the Baltic country’s military said Wednesday.The troops are being dispatched as part of U.S. Army Europe’s Atlantic Resolve campaign, which involves rotating hundreds of troops to locations up and down eastern Europe in an effort to deter Russian aggression in the region."

As noted the deployment is part of NATO's Atlantic Resolve campaign that has been ongoing since 2014. The campaign focuses on sending more and more US military asset to Baltic States as well as other states near Russia. The buildup is bound to anger and increase tensions with Russia.

The US troops to be deployed

Some other recent deployments have been part of international exercises but these troops are intended to stay for some time.

A recent article lists the troops being deployed: "The unit — the 1st Battalion, 9th Cavalry Regiment out of Fort Hood, Texas — is expected to be in the country through spring 2020, it (the announcement) said.The unit is part of a broader brigade rotation into Europe involving the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, which deploys in October, U.S. Army Europe said.The 9th Cavalry will bring with it 30 Abrams tanks, 25 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles and 70 wheeled vehicles, the defense ministry said. They will be based out of a training area in Pabrade, a small town near the country’s border with Belarus."

Lithuania is tasked with providing lodging and logistical support for the US troops during the deployment according to the Defense Ministry.

Lithuanian officials welcome deployment

Lithuanian officials had lobbied for the US to send more frequent and longer US troop rotations in the country since the Atlantic Resolve program began after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

Lithuanian Defense Minister Raimundas Karoblis said: “We have sought a larger, long-term U.S. military involvement in Lithuania and the region consistently and patiently. Therefore the deployment of the U.S. Army battalion for a longer period of time is good and awaited news and a result of our efforts and investment.”

I have appended a propaganda video that seems to have a hesitant robot sounding voice.

Previously published in the Digita; Journal