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1 1 (August 04, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdbep0001 and id is 1 raw text is: . U.S. Military Presence in Poland - mmm, go mppm qq\ , q I aS 11LIANJILiN, Updated August 4, 2020 Poland has been a major focus of U.S. and NATO efforts to deter potential Russian aggression in 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 of a separatist war in eastern Ukraine underscored to many observers that NATO allies, particularly those in Eastern Europe, could once again be threatened by Moscow. In response, the United States and its NATO allies have undertaken a number of initiatives to emphasize NATO's collective defense agreements, thereby assuring allies of their own security while simultaneously deterring Russian aggression. Poland is a critical partner 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. defense budget, is the key fiscal mechanism by which it does so. U.S. military operational activities of EDI are executed as part of Operation Atlantic 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 rotational nine-month deployment. 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 assigned 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 of a rotational Army Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT) and support units; * an Army Aviation Task Force; * 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 stationed in Orzysz, Poland, includes an 857-soldier Armored Cavalry Squadron from the Vilseck, Germany- based U.S. Army 2nd Cavalry Regiment. On July 29, 2020, the Department of Defense announced that the 2nd Cavalry Regiment would be returning to the United States from Germany at an unspecified future date. 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 Mission Command Element by adding staff and command, control, communications, 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 share information, as appropriate, with Poland; * an Aerial Port of Debarkation (APOD) to support the movement of forces for training or contingency operations; * an Army Area Support Group (ASG) to provide maintenance and supply support to current and future U.S. forces in Poland; * a U.S. special operations 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 the presence of an Army ABCT, an Army Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB), and an Army Combat Sustainment Support Battalion. Implementing this initiative is contingent upon the signing of a formal bilateral Defense Cooperation Agreement; the two sides reportedly finalized the text at the end of July 2020 and are expected to officially sign the agreement on August 15, 2020. As part of the agreement, Poland has reportedly pledged to fund the construction of infrastructure and other logistical support for U.S. troops in the country. On July 29, 2020, U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper announced a series of USEUCOM force posture changes K~:>

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