House looks to increase permanent US military presence in Europe
Source: Washington Examiner
by Travis J. Tritten | May 22, 2017, 2:50 PM
The House Armed Services Committee has asked the Pentagon to calculate the cost of permanently stationing what are now rotational U.S. military forces in Europe, chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry said Monday.
Thornberry said lawmakers want to see how keeping units on the continent long term compares to the cost of short rotations aimed at reassuring allies over Russia and supporting NATO training operations.
U.S. soldiers arrived in Poland in January and fanned out to sites across Eastern Europe, where concerns run highest over Russia's claims on Crimea and its assistance to rebels fighting the Ukraine government.
"I don't know what the cost data will show," he said. "I'm not convinced that it is tremendously cheaper to rotate a bunch of units through rather than have that permanent presence."
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