03-01-2024, 04:50 AM
this is in reply to Goose's reply
Thank you for a very interesting and thought provoking series of comments.
I found this one list of US Army Forces now assigned to Europe and Africa. https://www.europeafrica.army.mil/Units/
Not a lot of combat power in that list. A couple of brigades not much else. But they are as you describe them useful "Hostage Forces". Do you know if we ever fully replaced the brobdingnagian hardware drawdowns that took place in the First Gulf War? If we do not have adequate hardware to be linked up to units being flown in during an emergency, we may be worse off than i thought.
I know that in 2017 four multinational Battle Groups were created and stationed in the three Baltic States and Poland and with the invasion of Ukraine NATO agreed to form four more in Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary. Do all those exists and are they full manned? How big is a Battle Group in todays world? The info I can find says that the BG in Estonia is largest and has 1,650 soldiers. A true Hostage Force and hardly a bump in the road for a Russian Armored division. A Russian Tank Division is supposed to have around 12 to 14 thousand men, but my guess is they are nowhere near full strength.
Hopefully, Losses in Ukraine, internal politics, and other issues will lead Putin to avoid going West. But if he thinks he can get away with it, who knows.
Thank you for a very interesting and thought provoking series of comments.
I found this one list of US Army Forces now assigned to Europe and Africa. https://www.europeafrica.army.mil/Units/
Not a lot of combat power in that list. A couple of brigades not much else. But they are as you describe them useful "Hostage Forces". Do you know if we ever fully replaced the brobdingnagian hardware drawdowns that took place in the First Gulf War? If we do not have adequate hardware to be linked up to units being flown in during an emergency, we may be worse off than i thought.
I know that in 2017 four multinational Battle Groups were created and stationed in the three Baltic States and Poland and with the invasion of Ukraine NATO agreed to form four more in Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary. Do all those exists and are they full manned? How big is a Battle Group in todays world? The info I can find says that the BG in Estonia is largest and has 1,650 soldiers. A true Hostage Force and hardly a bump in the road for a Russian Armored division. A Russian Tank Division is supposed to have around 12 to 14 thousand men, but my guess is they are nowhere near full strength.
Hopefully, Losses in Ukraine, internal politics, and other issues will lead Putin to avoid going West. But if he thinks he can get away with it, who knows.