United States President Joe Biden has authorized the deployment of 3,000 reservists to bolster forces already stationed in Europe in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve.
The Democrat's order would authorize the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security to deploy active duty units and individual members who are assigned to a unit of the Selected Reserve or any member of the Individual Ready Reserve to the region.
Joe Biden Authorizes Deployment of Reservists to Europe
The deployed troops should be at most 3,000 total members at any given time, out of which not more than 450 may be members of the Individual Ready Reserve, Biden's order added.
The president's recent order comes from his five-day trip to Europe, which saw him travel to various regions, including the United Kingdom, Lithuania, and Finland. The international trip sought to demonstrate the force of the international coalition against Russia's continued invasion of Ukraine, as per Fox News.
President Biden appeared confident that he had already accomplished that mission when he proclaimed that he and other NATO leaders showed the military alliance that they are "more united than ever."
As Ukraine's demand for an explicit route to become a member of NATO remains elusive, the United States president emphasized that agreements with countries within the alliance would support Kyiv's long-term security even without its formal entry into the group.
On Thursday, Biden had a meeting with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, where the Democrat insisted that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would be "very happy" despite his expressed frustrations at the lack of a clear timeline for Ukraine's accession into the military alliance.
Despite Biden's order, it remains to be seen whether Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin plans to deploy the troops soon. However, the order does suggest that the American military's training session in Europe, along with the deployment of several new brigades following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has stretched active-duty forces thin, according to Politico.
Defending NATO's Eastern Flank
In a statement on Thursday, the director of operations for the Joint Staff, Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims, said that Biden's order reaffirms the unwavering support and commitment of the US government to the defense of NATO's eastern flank. He added that it comes after Moscow's supposed illegal and unprovoked war on Kyiv.
While the authorization gives the military's European Command "greater flexibility to defend the continent," it would not change the actual number of forces stationed in Europe, said Capt. Bill Speaks, a spokesperson for US European Command.
Officials from the Pentagon added that American troops stationed in Europe now number roughly 80,000. However, they argued it could change this by allowing commanders to deploy additional reservists. Authorities noted that the units that will be deployed have yet to be identified.
Sims said that authorities allow the department to support better and sustain the American military's presence overseas. Speaks added that the order would ensure long-term resilience in USEUCOM's continued heightened presence and operations, said the Washington Post.
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