Thousands more soldiers are preparing to deploy to Eastern Europe as Russia-Ukraine tensions continue, the Pentagon announced Friday.
Three thousand members of the 82nd Airborne Division would join 3,000 troops already mobilized to Poland, Germany and Romania.
“This second tranche of Airborne soldiers will join in Poland the first tranche of 1,700 soldiers and key enablers that Secretary Austin ordered there on February 2nd,” according to a statement from a senior defense official. “Nearly two-thirds of this first tranche has already arrived.”
Another 300 members of the XVIII Airborne Corps headed to Germany this week, while 1,000 members of the Germany-based 2nd Cavalry Regiment mobilized to Romania.
The “additional personnel comprise a highly mobile and flexible force, capable of multiple missions,” according to the statement. “They are being deployed to reassure our NATO allies, deter any potential aggression against NATO’s eastern flank, train with host-nation forces, and contribute to a wide range of contingencies.”
These troops are in addition to thousands put on heightened alert to deploy last month, who would be joining the 40,000-troop, international NATO Response Force, should it be activated.
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