A former NATO commander now believes the United States should establish a “permanent presence” on the organization’s eastern flank due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Gen. Philip Breedlove, former supreme allied commander Europe, said at an Atlantic Council event on Monday morning that he would support “persistent rotational forces that establish a permanent presence” in the region.
“I think in America’s future, what we’re really going to be talking about is persistent rotational forces that establish a permanent presence,” he explained. “But as far as moving large formations to Europe, I’m not sure that’s politically palatable in America unless our forces grow and new forces can be sent to Europe because it’s going to be pretty tough for any congressional delegation.”
His comments come as NATO is responding and adapting to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, with a handful of non-NATO countries contemplating a bid to join the alliance. Finland and Sweden announced they were considering joining the alliance, which would end years of neutrality after watching Russia invade Ukraine.
Breedlove is not the only military official to pose the idea of rotational troops creating a permanent presence on NATO’s eastern flank.
Last month, Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the House Armed Services Committee, “My advice would be to create permanent bases but don’t permanently station.”
Part of Milley’s reasoning, he said, was that rotational forces would not require the same challenges of permanent stationing such as family moves, schools, and housing, though he noted, “I believe that a lot of our European allies … are very, very willing to establish permanent bases.”
Similarly, a week before Milley’s testimony, Air Force Gen. Tod D. Wolters, the head of U.S. European Command, said he believes more U.S. troops will be required in Europe in the long term.
“I think what we need to do from a U.S. force perspective is look at what takes place in Europe following the completion of the Ukraine-Russia scenario and examine the European contributions and, based off the breadth and depth of the European contributions, be prepared to adjust the U.S. contributions,” he explained. “And my suspicion is we’re going to still need more.”
