Two US Army Battalions In Poland

According to Lt. Col. Artur Goławski, of the General Command of the Armed Forces, Hodges announced that equipment for two battalions – command and support battalion and operational battalion – is going to be stationed in Poland. This inventory is to be involved in training, within the territory of Poland and the Baltic states. In total, ca. 600, out of 1200 units of equipment, are going to be deployed to Poland. The said equipment is going to constitute the basic inventory for a heavy US Army brigade.

In practical terms this means that 30 M1A2 Abrams main battle tanks, and a similar number of M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, are all going to be stored in Poland, along with relevant additional support equipment. Command units’ equipment is also going to be sent to Poland. One cannot rule out a situation in which the Americans decide to deploy additional inventory for the artillery or reconnaissance elements (M109A6 howitzers or M3 Bradley vehicles).

In total, the equipment for a US Army brigade in Europe is going to consist out of 1200 units, including 250 heavy combat vehicles - 90 Abrams main battle tanks, 140 M2 infantry fighting vehicles and M3 Bradley reconnaissance vehicles and 18 self propelled howitzers. The remaining inventory includes support units and heavy utility vehicles.

The remaining equipment of the Brigade is going to be stationed in Germany, Romania, Bulgaria, and in the Baltic republics. Deployment of the equipment for an armoured unit is – in its basic assumption – going to increase the reactivity towards potential threats emerging in Europe. Secondly, it is going to be significantly easier to carry out rotational operations. The above initiative constitutes a part of the activities undertaken, in order to reinforce the NATO eastern flank, in line with the arrangements made during the Newport summit in Wales.

General Ray Odierno, who, at the time, commanded the US Army Europe component, stated in July this year, that he is going to make efforts towards deploying equipment for another brigade, within the territory of Germany (regardless of the equipment that is being deployed now). Before the Ukrainian crisis started, the Americans only stored equipment for a battalion-sized unit in Germany. No unit of this class is currently stationed in Europe on a permanent basis, the equipment is being used by the United States-based elements, which maintain rotational presence in Europe.

General Commander of the Polish Armed Forces, General Miroslaw Różanski, together with General Ben Hodges, have signed a declaration of intent within the scope of bilateral cooperation, along with a letter of intent, establishing a partnership programme between the military units: 17th “Wielkopolska” Mechanized Brigade and the 2nd Cavalry Regiment and Polish airborne brigades, with the 173rd Airborne Brigade of the US Army.

We are willing to continue our successful cooperation with our partners from the United States. Many joint initiatives are being planned. Anakonda-2016 exercise is one of the most important ones. It is going to be a great challenge within the scope of logistics, but the operation shall also constitute a demonstration of skills, right before the NATO summit in Warsaw.