The following are some points made by French Lt. Gen Michel Yakovleff from the July AUSA magazine. I did include the link for the whole article below, as he goes into examples of the functional options for the Corps Headquarters vis a vis NATOs High Readiness Forces (Land) construct.
- So what does V Corps bring to the fight in Europe? If you look at it in the context of the increased spending NATO has accomplished, 2019 was the fifth year in a row that overall spending by the alliance has increased, a Corps (even the Corps FWD) brings a lot in the areas of political and strategic significance.
- The drawdown of forces in Europe basically started in 1990 during the first Gulf war, and as Kato mentions. “The real number of troops in Germany hasn't really changed much in the last couple years, since 2 SCR and 12 CAB fully redeployed to Germany.”
- But the focus now isn’t on US forces stationed in Europe/Germany. It is NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence and US forces in particular though not exclusively, rotate and exercise in Poland, Romania, Slovakia, the Baltic States, and in general engage in show the flag operations along the alliances eastern side.
- So we now have a persistent reinforcement strategy going on. The last REFORGER was in 1990. Defender Europe 2020 is the start of Division sized elements returning to Europe from CONUS. (Hopefully we can lay aside the Covid related downsizing of this event for the sake of discussion.) A Russian looking at this from the boarder of Belarus and Poland sees an America getting stronger in Europe, not pivoting to the Pacific as had been advertised.
- So as America continues to ask, some would say pressure, its European Allies to contribute more to the common defense, it is reasserting the role of leader of the West. The reactivation of V Corps in Feb 2020 adds to this leadership role.
- With the V Corps, America is signaling the how big a fight America will be willing to engage in during a European crisis. The fact that the headquarters is in Ft Knox KY, but the FWD element is in Europe, gives this organization the ability to scale up as a situation demands. Scaling up the FWD element gives the opportunity for political signaling and the message sent would be unmistakable.
(The following is from a Feb 11th announcement, the link is at the bottom.)
Remarks by General McConville: "Combatant commanders know they can count on highly-trained and ready Army forces as they implement the National Defense Strategy around the world. The activation of an additional Corps headquarters provides the needed level of command and control focused on synchronizing U.S. Army, allied, and partner nation tactical formations operating in Europe. It will enhance U.S. Army Europe and U.S. European Command as they work alongside allies and partners to promote regional stability and security."
Some other items of interest that the Corps will bring: The V Corps Headquarters will consist of approximately 635 soldiers, of which approximately 200 will support an operational command post in Europe on a rotational basis. The Corps Headquarters is projected to be operational by the fall of 2020. The establishment of V Corps enables the Army to fulfill requirements of the National Defense Strategy. It also supports a U.S. European Command request for increased command and control capability, and will support U.S. interests, allies and partners in the region.
https://www.ausa.org/articles/v-corp...ve-role-europe
https://www.army.mil/article/232649/...s_headquarters
- So what does V Corps bring to the fight in Europe? If you look at it in the context of the increased spending NATO has accomplished, 2019 was the fifth year in a row that overall spending by the alliance has increased, a Corps (even the Corps FWD) brings a lot in the areas of political and strategic significance.
- The drawdown of forces in Europe basically started in 1990 during the first Gulf war, and as Kato mentions. “The real number of troops in Germany hasn't really changed much in the last couple years, since 2 SCR and 12 CAB fully redeployed to Germany.”
- But the focus now isn’t on US forces stationed in Europe/Germany. It is NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence and US forces in particular though not exclusively, rotate and exercise in Poland, Romania, Slovakia, the Baltic States, and in general engage in show the flag operations along the alliances eastern side.
- So we now have a persistent reinforcement strategy going on. The last REFORGER was in 1990. Defender Europe 2020 is the start of Division sized elements returning to Europe from CONUS. (Hopefully we can lay aside the Covid related downsizing of this event for the sake of discussion.) A Russian looking at this from the boarder of Belarus and Poland sees an America getting stronger in Europe, not pivoting to the Pacific as had been advertised.
- So as America continues to ask, some would say pressure, its European Allies to contribute more to the common defense, it is reasserting the role of leader of the West. The reactivation of V Corps in Feb 2020 adds to this leadership role.
- With the V Corps, America is signaling the how big a fight America will be willing to engage in during a European crisis. The fact that the headquarters is in Ft Knox KY, but the FWD element is in Europe, gives this organization the ability to scale up as a situation demands. Scaling up the FWD element gives the opportunity for political signaling and the message sent would be unmistakable.
(The following is from a Feb 11th announcement, the link is at the bottom.)
Remarks by General McConville: "Combatant commanders know they can count on highly-trained and ready Army forces as they implement the National Defense Strategy around the world. The activation of an additional Corps headquarters provides the needed level of command and control focused on synchronizing U.S. Army, allied, and partner nation tactical formations operating in Europe. It will enhance U.S. Army Europe and U.S. European Command as they work alongside allies and partners to promote regional stability and security."
Some other items of interest that the Corps will bring: The V Corps Headquarters will consist of approximately 635 soldiers, of which approximately 200 will support an operational command post in Europe on a rotational basis. The Corps Headquarters is projected to be operational by the fall of 2020. The establishment of V Corps enables the Army to fulfill requirements of the National Defense Strategy. It also supports a U.S. European Command request for increased command and control capability, and will support U.S. interests, allies and partners in the region.
https://www.ausa.org/articles/v-corp...ve-role-europe
https://www.army.mil/article/232649/...s_headquarters
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