The exact number of US troops that will be withdrawn from Germany is yet to be determined, nothing has been “set in concrete,” US Permanent Representative to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison said on Tuesday.

The exact number of US troops that will be withdrawn from Germany is yet to be determined, nothing has been “set in concrete,” US Permanent Representative to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison said on Tuesday.

Late on Monday, US President Donald Trump said that the US would reduce the number of its troops in Germany to 25,000 from the current 34,500, in connection with Germany’s debt owed to NATO and US dissatisfaction with bilateral trade relations.

“Germany is a strong partner and has been a hub for our military for a long time, and I don’t think that we have any kind of timeline that I have heard of.

So I really think that much is in the phase of being looked at, but nothing firm has been set … It will take some time to plan, I think, for the defense department for any potential troop movement, but I don’t think anything has been set in concrete yet,” Hutchinson said at a briefing.

Trump has tasked the US military with assessing the US “force structure in Europe” and looking at where it would be best to relocate the troops, Hutchinson added.

Below is a full rush transcript of the Press Briefing by  Ambassador Kay Bailey Hutchison U.S. Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Ambassador Hutchison:  I’m really happy to be with you as my usual tradition is to have a press briefing before a ministerial.  And even though the ministerial is virtual, I’m really glad to be able to talk to the press today about what we’re going to do because, in fact, this is going to be a very productive defense ministerial. 

I think that we’re down to nuts and bolts of making sure that we have the concept for deterrence and defense of our entire alliance.  And that is something that I think the ministers will hear about and hopefully endorse tomorrow.  We also are going to talk about COVID-19, and our allies have been so helpful to each other in COVID-19.  And NATO has been a transporter of 250 flights’ worth of the needed capabilities and equipment that our allies and partners have asked for during this time when, really, our nations have come together to fight this dreadful virus that is bringing our economies down, and which we all hope to fight together and beat together.

And then we’re also going to talk about the Russian missile defense buildup.  We have gotten, from our Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, an assessment of what Russia has been doing.  We know they have violated the INF treaty, and it turns out that they have continued to do that and built up quite an arsenal of weaponry that NATO needs to assess and be willing to deter and defend, which of course we are.

And I think it’s going to be a very productive time.  Although our ministers really enjoy being together in person, they will exchange information for sure virtually tomorrow and the next day.  And we hope that that will lead to another defense ministerial in person in the fall if we can all start traveling again, as we hope to do.

Question : Is the future of aspirant countries, particularly Georgia, on the agenda of this defense ministerial meeting?  Could you please assess Georgia’s efforts as a partner country?

Ambassador Hutchison:  We have had an open door, and as everyone knows, we have recently accepted North Macedonia into our midst.  And we’ve also adopted Ukraine as an Enhanced Opportunity Partner, which Georgia already is.  And what that means is that we are giving special attention and more interoperable efforts with Georgia and Ukraine and consider them our closest partners.  We think that both of those countries are standing up to Russian aggression; Russia has tried to illegally take over parts of Georgia and parts of Ukraine.  NATO has stood firmly for the sovereignty of those two countries, and we will continue to do so. 

Question:  My question is about recent information about the possible withdrawal of U.S. troops from Germany.  Will it be discussed with your partners in the ministerial?  And do you know any details?  Can you make us familiar with what will be this withdrawal in the future or if anything concrete there?  

Ambassador Hutchison:  We do know that the President said yesterday that there would be a draw-down from Germany.  He has, as far as we know, tasked the military to assess our force structure in Europe and to look at where it would best serve the deterrence and defense for all of Europe to have those troops.  So, I think we know that much.

Going forward, I think it is really important that we look at the big picture in Europe and the commitment of the United States in Europe, which has increased, not decreased.  It has most certainly decreased in the European Defense Initiative, where we have put thousands more troops into Poland as well as the enhanced forward presence in which we participate for the Baltics.  We have troops that are throughout Europe, and we’ll continue to have a troop presence in Europe.  I don’t think there will be a diminution of America’s commitment to Europe at all.  I think it is stronger than ever. 

Question:  Are you going to talk about Turkish and Russian interventions in Libya at the ministerial meeting?  What is the U.S. position?

Ambassador Hutchison:  I think that there will be conversation, of course, among our allies on the situation in Libya, and the United States has taken the position that there should be peace talks between the warring factions in Libya.  We are certainly against the Russian presence in both Syria as well as Libya.  They have been disruptive in both places.  They have even attacked Turkey’s troops in Syria.

So, it’s a very disruptive situation.  Russia is certainly having a hand in that.  And that is a discussion because, of course, in the alliance we are trying very hard – and I don’t think there will be a NATO issue in Libya, but we’re trying hard to say to both sides: it is time for the UN envoy to bring the parties together and try to have a peaceful situation there.  And we certainly hope that Russia will look at what they’re doing and become a force for peace rather than the disruptive force that they have been for years in Syria and now Libya.

Question:  Madam Ambassador, again on the troop reduction from Germany, the President, when he made his announcement yesterday, did not say in which time frame this was meant to go ahead, and also, he did not mention whether he considers to move these troops to Poland.  So, could you please update us on these issues?  When are we likely to see the draw-down?  And if I may ask, in addition to that, the President also said or hinted at the fact that if Germany paid more, he might review his decision.  So in the end, are we still in a kind of bargaining phase? 

Ambassador Hutchison:  Well, I think any kind of actual planning, I think, has not happened yet.  I know that the military is looking at the force structure, and where troops can do the most good.  And, of course, Germany is a strong partner and has been a hub for our military for a long time.  And I don’t think that we have any kind of timeline that I have heard of.  So, I really think that much is in the phase of being looked at, but nothing firm has been set.

I think, when you talk about the German payments, it is clear that Germany needs to do more on the defense side.  They say that themselves.  Their defense ministers, both before and now, Minister Karrenbauer, have said they need to do more in defense spending, and so has Chancellor Merkel.  So, I think that they are working toward that.  They’ve increased their spending very much, 80 percent, over the last few years.  So, they are beginning to make those commitments on spending. 

And I think that it is important that we have the forces that are showing the commitment that America has in Europe, and that there will be much more to come.  It will take some time to plan, I think, for the Defense Department for any potential troop movement.  But I don’t think anything has been set in concrete yet. 

Question:  On Friday, June 12th, Ukraine was recognized as a NATO Enhanced Opportunity Partner, or EOP.  In your opinion, is that a last step before getting a Membership Action Plan, or was that some kind of substitute for real membership in the alliance?

Ambassador Hutchison:  It is saying that the Ukraine people are very much important to NATO, that we are going to have more interoperability, more training, more exercises.  I think that there is no question that both the U.S. but also NATO is committed to the sovereignty of the Ukraine.  And Russia is continuing to produce much malign influence in the eastern part of Ukraine as well as their illegal invasion of Crimea, which is also part of Ukraine. 

So, we stand with the Ukraine people.  But this is not anything in a beginning of a MAP, and it is not anything that is saying that Ukraine would never be an ally in NATO.  I hope they will be.  The U.S. hopes they will be.  And when the time is right, then accession and MAP plans will be on the drawing boards.  We are very supportive of Ukraine.

Question:  Is there any implications on U.S. strategy towards Baltic defense because of the Turkish decision to block implementation of NATO’s defense plan for the Baltics?  Does the U.S. have any idea how to solve the situation with Turkey and Baltic defense plans?  

Ambassador Hutchison:  Well, we certainly have much interest in the graduated response plans for the Baltics and Poland, and they will be achieved.  We are very, very committed, of course, to the enhanced forward presence of the Baltics, and the European defense initiative in Poland, as well as the enhance forward presence there.  And the planning is going forward for the Baltics, and I hope that we are very close to having that finalized in the very few hours or days ahead.

Question:  I wanted to know more on the troop pullout from Germany.  What sort of strategic thinking was behind this?  Since I’ve spoken to military officials, and nobody seems to think that this is a good idea, considering how many operations the U.S. does that use the troops stationed in Germany but aren’t actually being used for territorial defense of Europe.  Do you have any – do you have idea what’s behind that, and also why there was not more consultation done before President Trump made his announcement when Secretary General Stoltenberg was – said that these were only media reports a few days ago?  

Ambassador Hutchison:  Every time we’ve had one of our in-person press conferences you’ve been there, and we appreciate that.  I don’t – I can’t say any more than that the troop assessment for Europe has been certainly tasked to the military for a long time, just looking at where the troops are and where they need to be.  I do not disagree that Germany has been a good partner – a good partner in housing our troops; our troops like being there – but I also know that there are many rotating troops that are in Germany, but in other places as well.

So, I don’t know all of the details of what went into that particular announcement, but I do think that there will be more information coming out, and I think that it should not be thought that there is any walking away from Europe and Germany.  Germany is in all of our NATO missions.  They are key partners in Afghanistan, in Iraq, in Kosovo, in enhanced forward presence.  They are with us in NATO.  They know they need to do more in defense spending.  Their defense ministers have said so, Chancellor Merkel has said so, and I think they’re working on that, and I think they are purchasing more equipment to prepare for the future.  They are meeting their capability targets.

So there is a balance there, and I think there is a general view in Congress and in the administration and the President to recognize the things that Germany does, but to call on them to do more, as they themselves have said they intend to do.

Question:   We are at a massive military escalation in Asia with Chinese militarization of disputed islands and provocations against Taiwan, Japan, and India.  Would you say there’s a risk for actual military confrontation on the horizon?  And what is NATO’s role to maintain stability in the Asian region?

Ambassador Hutchison:  Well, that’s a very interesting question, because I think NATO is now looking to the East, and I think the provocations that are mentioned in that question – in the South China Sea, what’s happening in Hong Kong, what’s happening with our 5G networks that we’re dealing with in the United States and in Europe, throughout our alliance, trying to keep our communications secure and seeing that some of the Chinese competitors do not have the capability to control the contractual obligations that are made by communications providers – all of those things, including the Belt and Road Initiative, are raising concerns, concerns among our allies, about what is the intent of China.  What are they doing that would appear to not be peaceful, that would not be players on a level playing field?  

So, we and our NATO allies are looking at that, we’re assessing.  The United States is very clear that we want China to be a partner in the world order that would be required for ethical behavior.  And we know that China has stolen intellectual property, that they have violated tariff and subsidies that have been set down by the world courts and the World Trade Organization.  

So we know that China has the capability to compete on a level playing field, and we’re asking them to do that, but we’re also turning a wary eye to their behavior right now in the South China Sea, militarizing islands that they said would never be done, as well as the clampdown on Hong Kong where they have an agreement with Hong Kong that was made when the agreement was made with the UK to allow Hong Kong to go its way.

But those agreements are being disputed and violated, so I think China could be a peaceful partner, a good trade partner, but they’re not showing that right now, and I think NATO partners – not NATO itself, but NATO partners are looking at this, and NATO is beginning to assess what China is doing as well.  It’s much more on our radar screen, and I think it should be because we should assess risk, hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.

Question:   The defense ministers are going to adopt a package of measures to counter Russian nuclear-capable missiles.  What will be the measures taken by the U.S.?  Will the U.S. develop new anti-missile defenses or deploy new installations in Europe?

Ambassador Hutchison:  Well, most certainly America is looking at the Russian missile buildup.  The reports that come back are very troubling, and we know that we need to prepare for a much bigger arsenal and a much more capable arsenal than we have seen in the past from Russia.  So yes, the U.S. is looking at the ways that we would deter, and NATO is also going to be looking at what should be a deterrence in Europe.  And, of course, we don’t have the plans for that set yet.  We are in talks with Russia, hopefully with China as well, on nuclear missile capability and hopefully the containment of nuclear capabilities by all three countries – U.S., Russia, and China – but also we are looking at ways to guard both ourselves, the U.S., as well as Europe, in what Russia might be doing that could be harmful for the peace in Europe.  

And when you say “Will there be capabilities in Europe?” anything that’s done in Europe would be with the permission of the countries where there would be a deterrence, or there could be movable, mobile deterrences, or it could be water-bound deterrences.  So, there could be many ways to deter Russia.  I don’t think there’s been anything clearly decided at this point either by the United States or by our European allies.

Ambassador Hutchison:  Well, thank you for holding this press conference, and I certainly appreciate the interest that our international partners and allies have in NATO.  I think NATO is as strong and unified as it has ever been, and we intend to keep it that way. 

The biggest navy exercise in Europe this year has been launched in the Baltic Sea as Nato demonstrates it remains a fighting force despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Nato leaders at the highest level have agreed to assembling the 19-nation armada during the outbreak.

Vice Admiral Lisa Franchetti, commander of the US 6th Fleet leading the exercise, said Nato was ready to respond to threats. “We will work together to deter any type of malign activity and be ready to defend,” she told a telephone press conference. “As operations continue we look to the various navies to continue to develop their readiness to respond to any threats that they face at sea.”

In past years Russian warships, including submarines, have shadowed the force along with aircraft flying low near warships in a dangerous manoeuvre known as ‘buzzing’.

“Our expectation is that all mariners operate in a safe and professional manner that does not endanger our crews or themselves,” the Ms Franchetti said. “That’s what we expect to see from the Russian Navy and Air Force. We expect them to do this safely.”

For the first time the exercise, called ‘Baltops’, will be conducted entirely at sea with amphibious landing cancelled because of the virus outbreak. Each ship has been decontaminated and its crew tested for the Covid-19 before setting out. To prevent infection there will be no exchange of personnel between ships during the 10-day deployment.

Participating nations include France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Britain and the US with 28 ships and 3,000 personnel.

“It is very challenging to take a measured approached, to conduct normal operations, training and exercises that all navies around world can participate in,” she told the press conference.

The exercise will continue until June 16 with intense live training that includes air defence, anti-submarine warfare, maritime interdiction and mine countermeasure operations.

For the first time, the exercise will be commanded ashore by Naval Striking and Support Forces Nato at its headquarters in Lisbon, Portugal, at its new maritime operations centre. It is also being co-ordinated through operations rooms in Germany, London and Naples, Italy.

Vice admiral Franchetti, who is also Naval Striking and Support Forces Nato commander, said the exercise would “demonstrate our continuous commitment to regional security and reinforce the inherent flexibility of our combined naval force to operate together under any circumstances”.

Below is a full rush transcript of the Press Briefing by  Vice Admiral Lisa Franchetti Commander, U.S. 6th Fleet and Commander, Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO  And Rear Admiral Guy Robinson Royal Navy, Deputy Commander, Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO.

Vice Admiral Franchetti:  All right and thank you very much for taking time to meet with us about BALTOPS 2020.  I am Vice Admiral Lisa Franchetti, Commander, Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO and Commander, U.S. 6th Fleet, and I’m here today with Royal Navy Admiral Guy Robinson, my Deputy Commander at STRIKFORNATO.  I am calling in from Naples, Italy, which is the headquarters of the U.S. 6th Fleet, while Admiral Robinson is calling in from Lisbon, Portugal, the headquarters of STRIKFORNATO, where we will command and control BALTOPS for the very first time.

I’m looking forward to answering your specific questions regarding exercise Baltic Operations 2020, or as we call it, BALTOPS 2020.  But first, let me describe the exercise and why it is important to the Baltic Sea region.

In its 49th iteration, BALTOPS 2020 is the premier annual, joint, multinational maritime-focused exercise in the Baltic Sea.  We leverage this U.S.-sponsored exercise to bring together NATO allies and partners to train together at sea for these 10 days to enhance interoperability and demonstrate NATO and partner commitment to security in the Baltic region.  This is my second BALTOPS at STRIKFORNATO, and I can tell you firsthand how important this exercise is to building partnerships and cooperation with our NATO allies and partner nations.  That is why it is especially critical that we continue to conduct BALTOPS this year, even in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.  However, we are taking precautions to ensure our crews and partners stay healthy and operational.  Accordingly, for the first time in its history, BALTOPS 2020 will be held entirely at sea.  Still, given that planning factor, 19 NATO-allied and partner nations have committed to participate in this year’s exercise, meaning that our crews will receive the critical international experience unique to BALTOPS.

This exercise will flex maritime and air forces to enhance our combined and joint capabilities, and our ability to work together in the challenging environment of the Baltic Sea.  No single nation can address today’s challenges alone.  By participating in exercises like BALTOPS, each country reaffirms their commitment and ability to work together to maintain a stable, prosperous Baltic Sea region in our ever-changing, dynamic world.  In fact, it is our history of steady combined operations that has enabled the dynamic flexibility required to execute this year’s all-maritime exercise.

Now I’d like to introduce Real Admiral Guy Robinson.  He is responsible for the tactical execution of BALTOPS 2020 and will provide you with an overview of the exercise before we take your questions.  Guy?

Rear Admiral Robinson:  I’m just reflecting that two years ago, we were both embarked on your flagship, the USS Mount Whitney, in the Baltic Sea, conducting our first exercise together, BALTOPS ’18, and a great opportunity for us to exercise command from the sea.  We took the decision last year to test the capability of your headquarters here in Lisbon to exercise command from a shore location, and that decision is now playing out throughout this exercise.  

It really underpins the great variety that one can achieve through different methods of command and control.  This is very much a distributed command-and-control arrangement where we’re connected with your 6th Fleet headquarters in Naples; we’re connected with our air cell at the Combined Air Operations Center in Uedem, Germany; we’re working with our colleagues in the Joint Force Command in Brunssum; we’re working with NATO Maritime Command in Northwood, London; and of course, most critically, I’m connected permanently to my two commanders of the two task groups that are at sea, two very experienced commodores who are providing that real-time feedback from the Baltic Sea.

In developing this exercise this year, as Admiral Franchetti has pointed out, we’ve obviously been very cognizant of the impacts of coronavirus, and that has meant several adjustments to the significant planning events that lead up to the delivery of an exercise of this complexity, and that has meant that we’ve adopted remote ways of working to replace conferences that are usually of several hundred people, and we’ve connected our headquarters through video teleconference, email, and other methods to achieve similar ends.

I think what I would take away from that approach is in many ways, this has felt more like a real-world operation in the fact that we’re distributed and we’re preparing remotely rather than the often very procedural planning method that we’ve achieved before in Baltic Operations exercises.

The exercise itself feels different to recent years because we’ve made the decision not to include amphibious forces in the exercise to keep the exercise entirely at sea, but that’s no bad thing.  This allows us to put a focus on different aspects of naval warfare, train different disciplines, and focus in different areas.  My two commanders at sea will be delegated significant mission command – the term we like to use for giving tactical commanders freedom to determine the best way to achieve the missions that I direct them to from this headquarters in Lisbon.

As ever, it’s an absolute privilege for me to be commanding a live operation, and a unique opportunity to do it from our headquarters in Lisbon. 

Question:  Russia has offered USA and NATO to reduce military activity and move it away from Eastern Europe to ease tensions in the region and free resources to fight COVID-19.  You have already said about the precaution measures that have been taken, but do you consider that the exercises could wait till the pandemic is over? 

Vice Admiral Franchetti:  You know, it has been very challenging in the time of the coronavirus to take a measured approach to being able to conduct our normal operations and normal training events and exercises that all of the navies around the world participate in, as we balance the protection of the health of our sailors and their families, as well as the responsibility to be able to conduct our missions at sea.  And so as we looked to put together BALTOPS 2020, we had a very important dialogue with all of the nations that had indicated they wanted to participate, and then each nation’s participation was approved at the highest levels of their defense and even higher establishments to ensure that the forces could safely conduct these operations while taking into account their own unique national circumstances.

I would also say that many of the navies have been continuously operating at sea.  The standing naval forces have been operating at sea.  So again, this is a great opportunity for the navies to get together and conduct training operations and exercises that will improve their individual readiness as well as our ability to operate together.

Question:  What is the U.S. Navy policy about Russian war planes buzzing that is, flying dangerously low over U.S. Navy ships in the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea?

Vice Admiral Franchetti:  All navies operate in international waters and in international airspace, and we expect that all navies will operate in a professional manner – navies and air forces – and that is what we expect to see from the Russian navy and the Russian air force as well.  Our expectation, again, is that all mariners operate safely and in a professional manner that doesn’t endanger either another crew or themselves.  So again, it’s all about safety.  Everyone has the right to operate in international waters and we all need to commit to doing that safely. 

Question:  What is your assessment of the current threat in the Baltic region, and how has it changed since 2014 and the annexation of Crimea? 

Vice Admiral Franchetti:  As we view the entire Baltic Sea, it’s a very important place for commerce and the flow of goods and trade for everyone.  From my time here in 6th Fleet and Striking Forces NATO, really just a little bit over two years, I would say that it remains a consistent place for navies to operate and train.  I would say that we always, as part of the NATO alliance, are working together to ensure that we can deter any type of malign activity and be ready to defend.  So as the operations continue, we look to the various navies to continue to develop their readiness to respond to any threat that they face at sea.

Rear Admiral Robinson:  STRIKFORNATO has had the privilege of running BALTOPS since 2015, with the exception of last year when we were committed to a different exercise.  So just looking at it through that lens, clearly we’ve had a Russian presence within the exercise, but it’s always been safe and professional and as Admiral Franchetti alluded to in her earlier response – I mean, people have got the right to operate in the Baltic Sea and we just expect people to follow the professional conduct of mariners in going about their business.  So we’ve not noticed any particular change in any threat through – viewed through the lens of BALTOPS. 

Question:  would the coronavirus affect the drills ? what is the effect of the coronavirus for the drills and what are the exact precautions, exact measures that will be taken during the drills to keep safe?

Vice Admiral Franchetti:  I will – I’ll turn it over to Admiral Robinson for the details on the exercise and how we’ve been able to shape it to be able to preserve the health of our force as well as reduce any potential risk to the nations by – in the past we had been going ashore.  What I would say, and I can say just from the U.S. perspective as one of the participating nations, as I have three ships involved in the exercise, is that we have taken a lot of precautions ahead of time, before the ships got underway, to test the crew at various stages to make sure that they would get underway without coronavirus onboard, and then we maintain that bubble of protection by not introducing any new people into the exercise throughout the duration.  So that’s just one way, and then every nation then has a similar or a process that they use to make sure that their ships and aircraft are ready to operate safely and in a COVID-free manner.  

So that’s more on the individual navy perspective, but let me turn it over to Admiral Robinson for what we’ve done to shape the exercise in the time of the coronavirus pandemic.

Rear Admiral Robinson:  Yeah, Admiral Franchetti.  As I mentioned in my opening comments, I expect that the biggest adjustment that we’ve seen this year is not to introduce amphibious training into this exercise, which would normally involve putting marines from the sea to a shore.  So that was a very obvious decision.  There are some more subtle changes in order to avoid the various crews interacting with each other.  So often there would be training serials that would involve the crews exchanging personnel; we regularly train boarding operations with the full cooperation of merchant vessels in the region.  This time we will not be exercising boarding trainings, so we won’t be putting any of our boarding teams onto any merchant ships in the region for purposes of training.  

And then very directly in terms of my headquarters here, we’ve – we’re running the exercise with less than 50 percent of the staff we would usually run that with.  So that’s required us to reorganize our staff and to train some people in roles they don’t usually have, always a great opportunity, but we’ve got a lot less people here.  Nearly everyone in this HQ are people that permanently work here, so we’ve taken a whole range of measures to minimize the risk while still providing a very rich and complex training environment.

Question: Do you think there is a danger of escalating tensions between NATO and Russia, especially in the Baltic region?  And what are the reasons for that?

Vice Admiral Franchetti:  I don’t think it even has the possibility because BALTOPS is an ongoing, cooperative training effort.  It’s in its 49th iteration.  And it’s really designed to demonstrate the U.S. and NATO’s transparent and predictable efforts to maintain joint interoperability and ensure that our forces are postured and ready to deter and defend against any type of regional aggression.  I don’t think this exercise can be interpreted as a threat to any specific country in the region, and it is very important to remember that we do generally conduct this exercise every June.  It’s very consistent for a number of years, taking advantage of the good weather, and we’re usually anchored in Kiel Week, which unfortunately isn’t happening this year again.

Question:   Admiral Franchetti and Admiral Robinson, do you have any closing remarks?  

Vice Admiral Franchetti:  Well, I’d like to thank everyone for joining today and we look forward to sharing more stories with you about BALTOPS as it unfolds in our unique configuration this year.  It’s very exciting and we’re very happy to have our opportunity to train at sea with our fellow navies.  Thank you very much, Justin, for organizing the call.

Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak on Thursday morning inaugurated the two-week Defender-Europe 20 Plus Polish-US military exercise at a range in Drawsko Pomorskie in north-western Poland.

Defender-Europe 20 Plus will take place on June 5-19 and will involve the biggest transport of US troops to Europe in 25 years as part of a connected exercise, the Allied Spirit, originally planned for May.

After the inauguration, the minister viewed the first tactical operations conducted jointly by the Polish and American soldiers.

In total, the Polish-US exercises involve around 6,000 soldiers and about 2,000 various types of equipment, including 100 tanks and over 230 combat vehicles.

Defender-Europe 20 Plus will allow checking, at the level of brigades, the ability of Polish and American soldiers to cooperate in a joint combat operation. The main goal is to increase strategic readiness and interoperability thanks to the ability to quickly deploy troops from the US to Europe, as well as to test the possibilities of host countries to accept them. 

Below is a full rush transcript of the Press Briefing by  U.S. Army Europe Brigadier General Christopher R. Norrie Commanding General, 7th Army Training Command And Brigadier General Brett G. Sylvia Deputy Commanding General-Maneuver, 1st Cavalry Division And General Command of the Polish Armed Forces Colonel Kazimierz Dynski Deputy Chief of Staff – J3 Division Chief.

Brigadier General Norrie: Good afternoon, I am Brigadier General Chris Norrie, the Commander of 7th Army Training Command. On behalf of U.S. Army Europe, thank you for taking time from your schedules to speak with myself, General Sylvia, and Colonel Dynski here, and Justin, thank you to you and our colleagues in Brussels for hosting this event, which makes it possible for us at the moment to have this conversation.

I do want to highlight that I’m on this phone call today from my basement here in Grafenwoehr, Germany, where I’ve been quarantining for almost two weeks now so that I can comply with host-nation requirements for entry from Germany, and that I will take a COVID-19 test before I enter the exercise itself, which is to say, like the rest of the world, COVID-19 has shaped and continues to shape everything we do here in U.S. Army Europe.

DEFENDER-Europe 20 was originally designed as a deployment exercise to bring large amounts of U.S. soldiers and equipment to Europe to build strategic readiness in support of our National Defense Strategy and NATO deterrence objectives. We had already begun this exercise when, in March, we decided to modify the exercise in conjunction with our allies and partners to ensure the safety of our forces and host-nation communities here in Europe.

Over 6,000 soldiers and 3,000 pieces of equipment arrived via air and sea to Europe, and an additional 9,000 pieces of equipment were drawn from Army prepositioned stocks here in Europe. Although we had plans for much larger formations of troops and equipment to arrive and then join our allies and partners for training on the ground here, we were able to exercise the systems and processes of mobilizing and delivering credible combat power from the United States into Europe from port to port and across land to a potential point of crisis. While many of the linked exercises for DEFENDER-Europe 20 were canceled in March, after careful planning between U.S. Army Europe and the Polish Ministry of Defense, exercise Allied Spirit – originally scheduled for May – starts this weekend in Drawsko Pomorskie Training Area in Poland and will run through June 19th.

I’ll defer to General Sylvia to discuss specifics related to the exercise, but I do want to highlight the significant work that has gone into the planning and execution of these exercises and the resumption of larger training this summer here in Europe with our allies and partners.

These exercises still utilize many of the original DEFENDER 20 – Europe 20 training objectives to enhance our combined readiness between U.S., allied, and partner nations, and importantly, they demonstrate that NATO allies and partners stand stronger together and that we’re able to operate and train in any environment. As commanders, we manage and mitigate risk. I don’t think anyone could have imagined when we started to cancel exercises earlier this year just how much this virus would impact the world, but we expect to operate in this environment for the foreseeable future. As military professionals, we have to balance keeping our force and community safe and healthy while maintaining operational readiness. As we progressed through spring and now into summer, we have done that here in Europe in close concert with our allies and host nations throughout Europe.

In Germany, for example, we’ve followed host-nation ordinances on size of gatherings, instituted strict social distancing, and maximized telework to the greatest extent possible. As conditions have improved, we’ve resumed our training but modified wherever possible to limit any potential spread of the virus. These are – there are just some jobs, though, in our military that you cannot telework, however. In order to train effectively and be able to work together with our allies and partners, you have to get out into the field and do it. We’re confident that we can do it safely and that’s what you’re going to see if you come out to Drawsko Pomorskie over the next few weeks, or if you follow along online with the training that we’re executing.

I do look forward to answering any questions that you may have, either here in this forum or over the next few weeks, and I’ll now hand it over to Brigadier General Sylvia for his comments.

Brigadier General Sylvia:  I’m Brigadier General Brett Sylvia, the Commander of the 1st Cavalry Division Forward, and also the Deputy Commanding General for 1st Cavalry Division. On behalf of America’s First Team, let me say thank you for taking the time to talk to us today. I’d also like to say thank you to my colleagues, Brigadier General Norrie and Colonel Dynski, for being here. I’m talking to you today from the training area in Drawsko Pomorskie, Poland, and as stated, I’ll address the specifics of the training and what we’ve done to prepare for it.

As Brigadier General Norrie stated, this training is a scaled-down version of the original training event, which had been designed to be the culminating event for the DEFENDER-Europe 20 series. What was once 10,000 soldiers is now down to 6,000 U.S. and Polish soldiers. We’re very thankful to the Polish armed forces for agreeing to open up this training area and for agreeing to participate with us. At the time of the decision, it was still a very uncertain time for many nations, which is making that all that more significant.

This is an important training event for numerous reasons. One of them is to demonstrate to our NATO allies and the world that we have the capability to train safely in this COVID environment. My colleague, Brigadier General Norrie, discussed how COVID-19 changed many things. We’ve gone to great lengths to ensure this training event is a safe one for all the soldiers participating and everyone in the local area. As a result, 100 percent of the soldiers and civilians participating or supporting this training have been tested and found to be COVID-free. At the same time, we’re putting in place protocols to monitor, periodically test, and if someone becomes sick, we have the ability to treat and trace. You can see that we’re committed to preserving the integrity of the training environment, even to the point where Brigadier General Norrie has to stay in his basement for 14 days before coming here.

So secondly, this training will demonstrate our ability to operate as part of a multinational, interoperable team, conducting one of the most complex maneuvers that any army can attempt: an opposed river crossing, or what we call a “wet-gap crossing.” With our Polish allies side by side with us, we bring the best of our armies together to accomplish this mission. The capabilities of the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, the capabilities of the Combat Aviation Brigade – both from 3rd Infantry Division – and then the capabilities of the Polish 12th Mechanized Brigade greatly complement one another. Some may have seen the demonstration of some of these capabilities yesterday when the Polish Minister of Defense visited.

The bottom line is that the Polish 12th Mechanized Division is a well-equipped, well-trained, and, most definitely, a well-led force. We are proud to work side by side with them as our peers during this exercise. We are truly stronger together.

I’m honored to be able to serve as the higher headquarters for this exercise. That headquarters is new to Poland and this is a fantastic opportunity for us to grow in our interoperability skills. We’ve trained and prepared for this exercise and we are certainly all ready to begin.

Colonel Dynski: Good afternoon, Colonel Dynski, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, General Command, from Warsaw East. I will provide to you the national flavor and national perspective to the exercise which was already very detailed and depicted by General Norrie and General Sylvia.

Following the deliberate planning between the U.S. Army Europe and the Polish Ministry of National Defense, exercise DEFENDER 20 Plus already started. Yesterday the Minister of National Defense, Mr. Blaszczak, accompanied by the ambassador of the U.S., inaugurated the exercise at the Drawsko Pomorskie Training Area, modified from the original design of the exercise to ensure the safety of soldiers, which is the crucial part of this, what we are speaking about. Due to the COVID pandemic restrictions, the U.S. and Polish bilateral exercise will feature the Polish airborne operations and the division-size river crossing, which is linked with the purpose of the Polish armed forces.

DEFENDER-Europe 20 Plus will enhance the readiness and ability to respond decisively against any adversary in a multinational, multi-domain environment. It will contribute to increasing interoperability and train our troops and commands to plan and execute ground combat operations.

I would like to highlight that all the scenarios and the setup for the DEFENDER-Europe exercise is along to the national security strategy, which was already signed in May of this year by President Duda. In the strategy, it is emphasized that the importance of the strategic cooperation with the United States of America, particularly in the areas of security and defense. Poland is the host nation, providing troops and providing the HNS, host-nation support. We do our best to provide the real training environment for the exercise and providing the safety for all soldiers in this COVID pandemic, very hard conditions.

Question: Do the U.S. and Poland see any real Russian threat in the Baltic region? If so, what kind of threat do they see?

Brigadier General Norrie: This is Brigadier General Norrie. I won’t speak for Poland, and I’ll defer to Colonel Dynski for his opinion. But from a U.S. perspective, we see that certainly our allies and partners are concerned with the realities of any threats in the region. That concern and our commitment to ensuring the territorial sovereignty and defense of our allies is what launched Operation Atlantic Resolve in 2014, and it continues not just through that but also with NATO’s enhanced forward presence in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. And Colonel Dynski, I’ll turn it over to you.

Colonel Dynski: The assessment of this security situation, we are very careful on this and we will see how the security environment has changed in Europe and especially in the central part of Europe from the east side. So as the – all efforts which were done establishing as the enhanced forward presence, the troop – NATO troops in Poland and the Baltic nations, as enhanced forward presence in Romania and the presence of ABCT U.S. troops stationed in Poland are the answer for how we have to be careful with assessment of the security environment in this region.

Question: Do you have any details about the exercise planned for next year, hopefully without being hindered by COVID?

Brigadier General Sylvia: This is Brigadier General Sylvia. So to address the first portion of the question about the headquarters, we replaced the 1st Infantry Division as part of the rotational division forward headquarters. What was formerly called the mission command element has since changed its name to the division forward mission, which is part of the Atlantic Resolve mission where we provide the higher headquarters for the rotational forces that come over into Europe as part of Atlantic Resolve.

As to the question about the exercises for next year, and I can also turn it over to General Norrie for his perspective, I can tell you that much of it is in planning right now and I believe that there’s a lot of assessments and reassessments that are taking place based off of the new environment in which we’re operating. But I’ll turn it over to General Norrie.

Brigadier General Norrie: Absolutely. The planning for next year is happening now with our allies, with our partners. We are working to define what those exercises might be, but we always are looking for opportunities to exercise our ability to move through Europe with our allies, and then to practice large-scale combat operations and large-scale maneuver training and exercises with our allied partners as well in support of the alliance and our shared objectives here in Europe.

Colonel Dynski: Colonel Dynski, if I may, to add something from the host-nation perspective. We are very grateful that the U.S. side decided to establish – so most recently it was the 1st ID, Infantry Division Forward MC, command, and right now it is 1st Cav MC headquarters at Poznan. We are very happy to have U.S. troops on the Polish soil, not only from the presence, which is the very measurable point of dedicated to the security, however, I would like to add that we are taking very great advantage of the conducting the common training. Together with the U.S. troops, we are increasing interoperability. We’re also conducting day-by-day training, which is most – which is influencing our abilities to conduct future operations.

Question: Do the Allied Spirit – or does the Allied Spirit scenario consider assertive Russian rhetoric against neighboring countries as a factor threatening the security of not just Poland but also the wider Euro-Atlantic area? Have you invited neighboring partner countries like Ukraine to participate with units or observers? And finally, in particular, are you going to deploy NATO SALIS airlift capabilities?

Brigadier General Sylvia: This is Brigadier General Sylvia. We’re not focused on any one specific adversary for these exercises. Only focusing on one of them would certainly leave us vulnerable to others. So instead, each time for every exercise, we build a challenging scenario that builds the readiness of our forces while assuring our NATO allies of our commitment to them. Allied Spirit’s scenario is about Poland and the United States working together as peers. It’s a scenario that gives us the opportunity to meet the main objective we want to achieve in terms of a large-scale maneuver. This is strengthening our ability to work as a combined arms team with our Polish allies. The original plan, as discussed a little bit, was for Allied Spirit to involve multiple nations, but as we’ve had to adjust it, it will only feature U.S. and Polish forces. Also, there’s no incorporation of NATO’s strategic airlift capability in this exercise in its current construct. From what I understand, they’re currently busy delivering supplies to allied nations to help fight COVID-19, which for them, obviously, is a significant undertaking.

Question: Will there be a SOF element, in particular involving in the exercise?

Brigadier General Sylvia: I did have a hard time hearing the last part of that. You asked if there would be a SOF, a Special Operations Forces, element participating? Is that what you said?

Brigadier General Sylvia: There are no SOF elements participating in this. The forces are an Armored Brigade Combat Team from the 3rd Infantry Division, a Combat Aviation Brigade from 3rd Infantry Division, and then forces from the 12th Mechanized Division as well as some engineer forces. There is the – one of the battalions from the 6th Polish Airborne unit that will be participating, but we do not have any special operating forces.

Colonel Dynski: Also, from the Polish side, there is no intent to put the special forces to the exercise, but as I already stated, the 12th Mechanized Brigade as the 9th Armored Cavalry Brigade, 2nd Tactical Air Wing, 3rd Airlift Wing, [inaudible] Brigade, and engineers – all those are forces from the Polish side participating in this exercise.

Question: I wanted to ask that Russia’s foreign ministry, when DEFENDER-Europe 20 was announced, aired concern that NATO is creating an armed fist near Russia’s borders. However, Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg replied that the exercise is purely defensive in nature. However, when describing the specifics, you mentioned the wet-gap crossing, the river crossings with armed forces. I would like to clarify: Could this operation be considered defensive in nature or, rather, offensive?

Brigadier General Sylvia: This is Brigadier General Sylvia. It absolutely is considered a defensive operation. I think that as you look at the construct of the multiple missions that need to take place as part of any combined arms team, there is the integration of multiple forms of maneuver that form the broader form of maneuvers. So for this one, yes, we are doing a wet-gap crossing. We are moving forces forward; that is certainly true. And elements of that are completely offensive in nature, but can be brought into the broader framework of a mobile defense in order to be able to defend certain terrain. And so there is nothing inconsistent with the Secretary General’s statement about it being defensive maneuvers in nature. So this is just our ability to be able to work on the interoperability amongst the multinational elements.

As I stated, my headquarters is new to the European theater. The Armored Brigade Combat Team that’s participating from the U.S. side is also new. And our ability to work alongside our Polish allies to be able to work all of the human, technical, and procedural interoperability requirements, it comes all together in this particular training event in order for us to be able to work together as a NATO team. And so it absolutely remains consistent.

Question : In addition to Polish and U.S. personnel, will any British army troops from the NATO EFP Battle Group Poland serving operationally under the 2nd U.S. Cavalry be participating in the later stages of the exercise? If so, what will their role be?

Brigadier General Sylvia: So this is Brigadier General Sylvia again. There are no EFP forces that are participating in this training. There was an element in the former construct of the DEFENDER series where they did participate, so I can understand where the question may have come from. But under this construct of Allied Spirit here in Drawsko Pomorskie, that element is not participating as part of this training.

Question: The 7th Army Training Command is participating in the upcoming exercise. Are there parts of the exercise in Grafenwoehr as well, or is the whole exercise only scheduled in Poland? 

Brigadier General Norrie: There is no specific training tied to Allied Spirit resident here at Grafenwoehr. However, the capabilities in terms of creating a training environment that are a part of our mission here at 7th Army Training Command are integral to Allied Spirit. Allied Spirit, again, it’s an exercise planned as a multinational division river crossing, and it includes a command post exercise that is stimulated through simulations. We have equipment that allows us to understand the maneuvers that are occurring as part of the training and to provide feedback to participating units in the form of after-action reviews, and then our operations group from the Joint Multinational Readiness Center at Hohenfels, they are observing and controlling the event with our Polish partners in support of the exercise training objectives.

Question: The Russians recently updated their nuclear strategy, and I was wondering if that makes any nuclear deterrence strategy, I should specify whether that makes any difference in your practical work and your preparation for the exercise? 

Brigadier General Norrie: This is Brigadier General Norrie. I can speak broadly about a shared purpose that our Army and the Polish Army has, and that is allowing our units an opportunity to train on their core competencies. Those core competencies are enduring and they are consistent with those things that armies practice and prepare for around the world. The training objectives with Allied Spirit – we’re in support of Allied Spirit – are those that General Sylvia outlined, and this training environment allows this incredible team multiple opportunities to practice their unit-level core competency and training objectives.

Question :  What can you tell us about the media day on June 17th? What is going to happen and what will be the schedule? How closely did you follow Russia’s movements in Ukraine, Syria, Libya, etc., in order to organize and plan this exercise?

Brigadier General Norrie: This is Brigadier General Norrie. I’ll defer to General Sylvia in reference to the media day, or our public affairs team. In reference to the second question, we always monitor the complexities of our environment with our allies, and we remain focused on preserving and further building readiness and protecting our formations.

Brigadier General Sylvia: This is Brigadier General Sylvia. So regarding the activities on the 17th, and I may have to defer to some public affairs at USAREUR with Colonel Scrocca, but as it stands right now I know that we are doing a Facebook Live event on the 14th of June in order to be able to demonstrate – to view the activities of this exercise. And so that’s taking place on the 14th for everyone to be able to view. Other activities, virtual events, I think are also going to be incorporated on the 14th, and some perhaps on the 17th. But again, I would have to defer to the USAREUR spokesman for that.

Question: Despite the pandemic scale-backs of several exercises, the Allied Spirit is going forward as is BALTOPS, the naval exercise in the Baltic Sea. So two events fairly close to each other. What message do you hope that sends as it pertains to the region?

Brigadier General Norrie: Well, I again just want to say thank you for the opportunity, and we’re looking forward to this training.

Brigadier General Sylvia: This is Brigadier General Sylvia. The absolute same for me. It’s been a pleasure to be able to spend a little bit of time with you, pleasure to be able to speak about this unbelievable training opportunity. I know that I was concerned whether or not we would be able to do this. So I am very thankful to the Polish armed forces for hosting us and for all of the multitude of people and entities and agencies that it took to be able to pull this training event together. It is going to be a fantastic training event to continue to build our readiness and to be able to demonstrate certainly that we are stronger together here as part of this NATO alliance, and that we can build our readiness, do complex training in this COVID environment, and I think that that is a – it’s a great message for all to see. Thank you.

Colonel Dynski: Colonel Dynski. From the Polish side, I would like to add that as – even in this COVID pandemic restriction, as a military we are flexible, we are adaptable, also in the decision-making processes doing the preparations of the exercise and delivering valuable training to our soldiers in terms of to improve transatlantic unity, deterrence, and credible defense, interoperability, to increase military mobility. So all of those together is – it looks like that as we will deliver what was scheduled for those exercises.