Abrams Tanks In Latvia. Strykers On The Polish Roads

The tanks will be used by the units of the 1st Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division, which is acting under jurisdiction of the European US Forces Command in 2015. The elements that are permanently stationed in the US will replace the soldiers from the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, who are currently involved in rotational exercises in Poland and the Baltic states.

According to the Army Times magazine, the soldiers serving in the mechanized infantry units, which are currently involved in the training operations in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, will return to the places of their permanent deployment in Germany, with the use of own equipment and road transport. According to the commander of the US Army in Europe,  general Bena Hodges,  in case of the soldiers who are deployed to Estonia, the operation may last as long as 7, up to 10 days. Hence it is very likely that it will be possible to spot the Stryker APC’s on the Polish roads soon.

The US Army is deploying armoured elements, selected from the units which are permanently stationed in the US to Mid-Eastern Europe for the second time since the Ukrainian crisis began. These forces act under the command of the US Army Europe and are assigned to that command throughout this year. Last year these forces included elements of the 1st Brigade of the 1st Calvary Division.

According to the available information, the Americans are going to deploy equipment for a full US Army brigade combat group to Europe. Such set of equipment would include the  Abrams tanks, Bradley APC’s and M109 howitzers. No place where that equipment would be deployed has been indicated, however it is possible that some of that equipment would remain in Germany, while some elements would be deployed to Mid-Eastern Europe, including Poland.