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1 1 (July 02, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdarc0001 and id is 1 raw text is: U.S. Military Presence in Poland Updated July 2,2020 h trdcuction Poland has been a major focus of U.S. and NATO efforts to deter potentialRussian aggressionin Europe. This is due in part to its geographic location on NATO's eastern flank, providing land access to the Baltic states. Although Ukraine is not a NATO ally, the Russian occupation of Ukraine's Crimea region in 2014 and subsequent initiation ofa separatist war in eastern Ukraine underscored to many observers that NATO allies, particularly those in Eastern Europe, could once again be threatenedby Moscow. In response, the United States and its NATO allies have undertaken a number ofinitiatives to emphasize NATO's collective defense agreements, thereby assuring allies of their own security while simultaneously deterring Rus sian aggression. Poland is a criticalpartner in these efforts. The United States has bolstered security in Central and Eastern Europe with an increased rotational military presence, additional exercises and training with allies and partners, improved infrastructure to allow greater responsiveness, enhanced prepositioning of U.S. equipment, and intensified efforts to build partner capacity for newer NATO members and non-NATO countries. The European Deterrence Initiative (EDI), launched in 2014 (originally called the European Reassurance Initiative), an Overseas Contingency Operations account in the U.S. defensebudget, is the key fiscal mechanismby which it does so. U.S. military operational activities of EDI are executed as part of OperationAtlantic Resolve (OAR). Approximately 6,000 U.S. military personnel are involved in OAR at any given time, with units typically operating in the region under a rotationalnine-month deployment. A key strategic question facing policymakers in the executive branch and Congress is whether existing efforts are sufficient, or whether more should be done to militarily reinforce Europe generally, and Poland specifically. This discussion was in part promptedby a 2018 proposalby the Polish government, which is in favor of an increased U.S. presence onits territory, under which it would contribute $2 billion toward establishing a U.S. military base in Poland. Quk-r-emnt US R ot,,Vmt,,,a Foc - mPln The United States has a rotational military presence in Poland of approximately 4,500 personnel, including those involved in OAR and NATO Missile Defense efforts, and forces as signed to one of four NATO Enhanced Forward Presence Battle Groups. U.S. forces in Poland include an Army division-level Mission Command Element (MCE) in Poznan, Poland; elements ofarotationalArmy Armored Brigade Conbat Team (ABCT) and support units; an Army Aviation TaskForce; an approximately 750-person Army Logistics Task Force based in Poland but with logistics hubs also in Lithuania and Romania; a U.S. Air Force Detachment at Lask, Poland; and a U.S. Navy Detachment in Redzikowo, Poland working on the Aegis Ashore missile defense site as part of NATO Missile Defense efforts. The U.S.-led NATO Enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group s tationedin Orzys z, Poland, includes an 857-s oldier Armored Cavalry Squadron fromthe Vils eck, Germany- based U.S. Army 2nd Cavalry Regiment. On June 12, 2019, the United States and Poland signed a Joint Declaration on Defense Cooperation Regarding United States Force Posture in the Republic of Poland. The declaration proposed adding an additional 1,000 U.S. rotational military personnel and establishing the following: an Army Division Headquarters (Forward). This could build on the existing Mis sion Command Element by adding staff and command, control, conmunications, and intelligence, and planning capabilities; a joint U.S./Polish Combat Training Center (CTC) in Drawsko Pomorskie and other locations in Poland; a U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Squadron to shareinformation, as appropriate, with Poland; an AerialPort of Debarkation (APOD) to support the movement of forces for training or contingency operations; an Army Area SupportGroup (ASQ to provide maintenance and supply support to current and future U.S. forces in Poland; a U.S. specialoperations forces capability in Poland to support air, ground, and maritime operations. It is unclear if this capability is intended to be for command and control and planning purposes only, an actual operational capability, or a combination of both; and * infrastructure to support thepresence of an Army ABCT, an Army Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB), and an Army Combat Sustainment Support Battalion. A Joint Declaration on Advancing Defense Cooperation, signed on September 23,2019, announced the specific locations where many of these elements would be located. Implementing these initiatives is contingent upon the signing of a formal bilateral Defense Cooperation Agreement, which has not yet been concluded. A A '2

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