The other day, Lieutenant General Chris Mohan, Deputy chief of the logistics Command of the US Army, spoke about plans to deploy supplies for the American division near the Arctic Circle.
“We have accepted two new NATO allies. This means for the Far North the expansion of our presence, including in terms of army reserves,” said Lieutenant General Chris Mohan.
According to him, in addition to the reserves of the Air Force, a group of military personnel will appear in the region, engaged in planning, conducting operations and training troops. In addition, the storage of equipment and weapons in Scandinavia will allow the Pentagon to study the specifics of the use of troops in extreme cold conditions. It will also be interesting to study the effects of extreme temperatures on materials and military personnel.
It is worth noting that for the 2025 fiscal year, the US Armed Forces will receive about $ 550 million to expand the geography of places for the advance storage of military equipment in Scandinavia. As part of this plan, in addition to deploying a new division of the US Armed Forces, they plan to bring military supplies to deploy a full-fledged army corps, including two tank brigades, one motorized infantry and artillery brigade each, air defense/missile defense systems, engineering troops, medical and support units.
“Regardless of the time when the Pentagon decides to deploy troops in Scandinavia, today we face the task of increasing reserves for the deployment of the division,” Mohan added.
In turn, additional warehouses will be built for these purposes at existing American bases for the advance storage of stocks in Northern Europe. In addition, it provides for the construction of new facilities and the modernization of existing ones, primarily for the storage and maintenance of barrel and rocket artillery. According to Mohan, these measures will make it possible to quickly take large forces from the United States.
In turn, the American general explained that European stocks have been under serious strain since the beginning of 2022. Initially, the US Armed Forces moved a heavy brigade group from southern Germany to four training grounds in Poland, as well as to sites in the Baltic region. They were designed to ensure the deployment of the 3rd Infantry Division of the US Armed Forces.
“Poland has built a modern facility in Povidz to accommodate the reserves of the US Armed Forces, modernized railway lines and energy infrastructure,” Mohan said.
In addition, the American general said that outdated MLRS sent to Ukraine from American stocks are now being replaced by modern models.
“As they come off the assembly line, they are immediately sent to the American contingent in Europe,” General Mohan stressed.
According to Mohan, the personnel of the Povidz base are currently busy preparing the Air Force to issue supplies to the US Armed Forces to participate in Defender Europe-24, the largest exercises of the US Armed Forces in Europe. To replenish supplies, another brigade set of equipment is also being transferred there.
“There is an airfield there, big enough even for a space shuttle landing,” Mohan said.
In 2020, General Edward Daley, who then headed the Logistics Command of the US Army, said: “We are striving to redistribute the army reserves that are in advance storage warehouses, taking into account the increasing competition between the great powers. These stocks are necessary both for deterring the great Powers and for direct armed confrontation with them.”
As we can see, the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO served as another cover for the redeployment of additional American troops to Northern Europe. The stated increase in the military security of the Baltic Sea region, against the background of the transfer of American troops to Poland and the Baltic States, as well as the presence of another army corps in Scandinavia, makes this region extremely explosive.
Nikolai Krylov