Launching the Military Union

BERLIN/BRUSSELS(Own report) – The German government has announced that the EU Military Union will be officially launched this Monday, with the European Council formally adopting 17 projects aimed at creating joint EU military structures. Germany is in charge of the establishment of a European Medical Command, considered an indispensable element of future EU military operations, alongside the European Air Transport Command, which has existed since 2010. Berlin is also establishing logistical structures that would facilitate rapid interventions. The German Bundeswehr is also active in both fields within the NATO framework. The operational preparation for future military missions is influenced by a fierce power struggle between Germany and France. According to the German ministry of defense, the military union is not only aimed at reaching more “independence” from the United States, but also at advancing EU “integration,” which is difficult to achieve with civilian means.

NATO Beefs Up Logistics Infrastructure for Offensive Operations

 

Some very important news is kept out of spotlight and undeservedly so. Bits of information pieced together indicate that very quietly the North Atlantic alliance is gearing up for large-scale combat operations. War preparations are not limited to weapon systems deployments and troop movements that hit headlines. No combat can be waged without logistics.

U.S. Army Tanks Arrive in Europe With Dead Batteries

U.S. Army Europe commander Ben Hodges speaks as Polish general Boguslaw Samol stands during news conference during a visit to the Multinational Corps Northeast, NATO base at Szczecin in northwest Poland / Reuters

 

U.S. Army tanks recently deployed to Europe arrived at a port in Germany, some of them with dead batteries and without sufficient fuel.

The Wall Street Journal reported this week on logistical challenges that the U.S. military faced when sending an armored unit of 4,000 soldiers and 90 tanks to Europe in order to protect NATO member states and deter Russian aggression.

U.S. General: We Have ‘Hugged’ the Russian Bear for Too Long

U.S. commander in Europe calls for more forces and equipment to deter ‘a revanchist Russia’

The commander of U.S. forces in Europe says the United States has accommodated Russia for too long amid aggressive military actions by Moscow and a shrinking U.S. footprint in the region.

U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, who is also NATO’s supreme allied commander in Europe, said that the United States had “hugged the bear” in Europe—a reference to Russia—after the fall of the Soviet Union in an attempt to promote cooperation with Moscow, the Department of Defense’s news service reported on Tuesday. Breedlove recently met with U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at the headquarters of U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Germany.

Russia Could Block Access to Baltic Sea, US General Says

Russia has moved ballistic missiles to and conducted nuclear strike drills from its Kaliningrad exclave [sic], prompting Pentagon fears that Moscow could block access to the Baltic Sea.

There is a “significant amount of capability” in Kaliningrad, including anti-ship weapons, air defenses, and electronic warfare equipment, Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, commander of U.S. Army Europe, said Wednesday.

China, Russia, Iran Closing Gap with Smaller, Older U.S. Military

Closing the gap was also mentioned here years ago. If they, especially China and Russia, are not already on par with U.S. capability, they will be within the next few years. Today’s unintelligence community seems to always be a few years behind  the curve.

As both quality and quantity of U.S. forces continue to take an intentional suicidal dive, in five to ten years, maybe an invasion of the United States mainland by China and Russia won’t be so laughable.

 

U.S. adversaries including China, Russia, and Iran are developing military capabilities that will allow them to compete with shrinking and aging American forces in the coming years, according to a new report.

The report, authored by the American Enterprise Institute and the Foreign Policy Initiative, warns that U.S. adversaries have been bolstering their militaries and purchasing cheaper weapon systems as the United States cuts its defense budget and delays acquisition of new equipment. Both China and Russia have increased their defense budgets by double digits in recent years, for example, while the United States could reduce its military spending by as much as $1 trillion in a decade under cuts known as sequestration.

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The size of the U.S. Navy fleet and the total number of Air Force squadrons have dwindled by more than half since the end of the Cold War. Of the 54 squadrons, less than half are combat ready.

Despite Cuts, U.S. Army Prepares for Threats in Europe

Does this sound like a NATO that’s ready to defend Europe in war? As documented on this site, this is only a continuation of what’s been reported on the ground in Europe, several times.

 

HOHENFELS, Germany — Less than three years after the United States Army sent home the last of its tanks that were permanently based in Europe, American commanders have been forced to rely on weapons shipped back temporarily or hardware borrowed from allies in the expanding effort to deter the latest threats from Russia with a fraction of the forces it had once deployed across the Continent.

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Mustering the necessary troops and equipment for the mission here can be a challenge, said Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, the Army’s commanding general in Europe. The number of permanently stationed soldiers on the Continent [sic] has dropped by 35 percent since 2012, and the Army has reduced some of its vehicles, weapons and support equipment or relocated it to other bases.

U.S. Commander: Russian Support to Ukrainian Separatists Has ‘Doubled’

Kremlin ignoring terms of ceasefire agreement

The top U.S. Army commander in Europe says Russia has substantially increased its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine since a ceasefire agreement was reached last September, the Hill reports.