General Hodges: The core of US tank brigade in Europe will be deployed to Poland
The Commander of the U.S. Army in Europe, Frederick Ben Hodges, stated that a U.S. heavy tank brigade, which will be deployed in Europe to strengthen NATO’s eastern flank, will be based in Romania and Bulgaria but the core part of this brigade will be in Poland.
According to Hodges, the brigade will arrive from Colorado in mid-January 2017 to Bremerhaven, Germany, then it will be rapidly deployed to Western Poland.
“Thus, the whole brigade will be in place and then the process, which we call RSOI – reception, staging, onward movement and integration, will begin. Once this process is completed, the heavy tank brigade will begin its 9-month rotational presence. Part of this brigade will be in the Baltic States, another part will be in Romania and Bulgaria but the core part will be based in Poland,” Hodges said.
In addition, an Air Force battalion is most likely to be deployed in Powidz, Poland in the spring. “As for creating a reinforced, advanced presence, there will be a squadron of armored vehicles that will be based in Germany. This is a great unit, well-trained especially for this mission,” the Commander of the U.S. Army in Europe added.