NY.- The Pentagon will keep several thousand US troops in southeastern Romania for at least an additional nine months, closer to the war in neighboring Ukraine than any other US Army unit has ever been, officials said this Sunday. Saturday.
Over the past year, the sprawling Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, located seven minutes from what a rocket flight would take across the Black Sea where Russian forces based themselves in Crimea, has been turned into a training center. for NATO forces in south-eastern Europe.
The forces could be the first line of defense if Russia invades more parts of the West.
There are about 4,000 US soldiers in the 101st Airborne Division who have been stationed at the airbase since last summer, including small groups of troops who often train right on the Romanian-Ukrainian border.
Before that, there was a smaller contingent from the 82nd Air Force that was sent as part of a rapid response group after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.
Troops from the 101st Airborne Division will leave in the next two months, officials said they may be replaced by a different brigade from the 101st Division, which is based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
In addition, officials said, the mission will be led by senior staff, including two-star generals and senior gliders, from the 10th Mountain Division based at Fort Drum, New York, so it is expected make it a nine-month deployment.
Before this Saturday, it was not clear if the Pentagon would maintain the senior level at the air base in Romania or if it would move its forces elsewhere.
Sending a two-star general so close to the combat zone, military analysts have said, could allow quick decisions about where to position troops and weapons if Russia decides to extend the war into NATO territory.
The measure “will ensure that the United States remains well positioned to provide a robust deterrent and defensive posture alongside our allies across the European continent,” the Army said in a statement on Saturday.
“The United States will continue to adjust its posture as necessary in response to the dynamic security environment.”
