US Reservists Must Ready for Europe After Biden Signs Unexpected Executive Order
Up to 3,000 military reservists will now be deployed in Europe as part of America’s support for NATO during the Russia-Ukraine war.
“I hereby determine that it is necessary to augment the active Armed Forces of the United States for the effective conduct of Operation Atlantic Resolve in and around the United States European Command’s area of responsibility,” President Joe Biden said Thursday in an executive order.
There was no announcement made of when the first reservists would be sent.
Last year, the U.S. increased its troop presence in Europe by 20,000, giving the United States about 100,000 troops officially based in Europe, according to Military.com.
“Since 2014, U.S. European Command has provided combat-credible forces for rotational deployment to Europe … to demonstrate good commitment to NATO,” Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims, director of operations for the Joint Staff, said in a news briefing Thursday, according to a Pentagon transcript.
“This reaffirms the unwavering support and commitment to the defense of NATO’s eastern flank in wake of Russia’s illegal, unprovoked war on Ukraine,” he said.
“These are not additional forces; these are forces that will augment what we already have there,” Sims said. “So as an example, over time, where we may have had someone from an active-component organization doing something, that job now under these authorities may be something that a reserve component unit may be able to do.”
The general said the units to be sent to Europe have not been identified.
“It will really depend on what’s required from the commander,” Sims said.
The order now classifies Operation Atlantic Resolve, the U.S. effort in Europe that began after Russia’s 2014 seizure of Crimea, as a contingency operation, according to Politico.
That designation speeds the process of supplying U.S. troops in Europe with equipment, allows the call-up of reservists and provides pay equal to active-duty troops as well as benefits for families and dependents of deployed reservists.
At this week’s NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, allies promised they would have 300,000 troops ready to be deployed in no more than 30 days from call-up.
On Thursday, Sims said “there are cluster munitions in Ukraine at this time,” referring to the bombs the U.S. has sent Ukraine.
The general also talked about what the U.S. would and would not deploy there, saying “the conditions right now for the employment of the F-16s are probably not — they’re probably not ideal.”
“I mean, the Russians still possess some air defense capability,” he said. “They have air capability. And the number of F-16s that would be provided may not be perfect for what’s going on right now.
“As the future changes, that certainly will dictate how that is employed.”
Sims said the deployment of Abrams tanks, which the U.S. has agreed to do, “will certainly make a difference on the battlefield.”
“I mean, we know it’s an extraordinary tank,” the general said. “And, you know, the training ongoing right now will make them, you know, I would think, extraordinarily good at employing them. I can’t tell you whether the offensive would still be going on by then or not, I just know that when the Abrams arrive, they’ll be able to make a difference with Ukrainians.”
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