US Soldiers in Europe for NATO’s Massive Drill Simulating War With Russia to Return Home Amid Pandemic

America's largest planned deployment to Europe in 25 years fizzles out

Editor’s note: Was supposed to involve 9,000 US troops already in Europe, 20,000 flown in for that purpose, and 8,000 from other NATO countries. Instead the largest part of the 20,000 is canceled and Germany withdrew the participation of its troops (but not of its territory).


U.S. officials are significantly reducing the size and scope of the long-awaited Defender 2020 exercise intended to test the Army’s ability to move a division-sized force from U.S. seaports to European training grounds this spring.

The exercise included 20,000 soldiers who were meant to conduct training across 10 European countries. Several linked exercises — Dynamic Front, Joint Warfighting Assessment, Saber Strike and Swift Response — will no longer be conducted, Army Europe officials said Monday.

Approximately 6,000 soldiers had already deployed from the United States to Europe since January, including a division headquarters and an armored brigade combat team.

“We anticipate the armored brigade combat team already deployed to Europe will conduct gunnery and other combined training events with Allies as part of a modified Allied Spirit exercise,” Army officials said in a statement. “Forces already deployed to Europe for other linked exercises will return to the United States.”

The exercise is being curtailed due to the outbreak of the novel form of coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, which has made its way through Europe. As of Friday, all movement of personnel and equipment from the United States to Europe were suspended.

Equipment for the exercise already started to arrive at ports like Bremerhaven, Germany, earlier this winter, as part of the opening salvo of the largest deployment of soldiers from mainland United States to Europe in a quarter century.

Defender 2020 drew parallels to the Cold War-era REFORGER exercise in Europe, which simulated a NATO deployment to West Germany in the event of a conflict with the Soviet Union. This year’s exercise was planned to simulate a fictional near-peer competitor in a post-Article V environment set in the year 2028.

The Army still plans to conduct another division-sized exercise in the Indo-Pacific region [That’s “Asia” for the non-special] in fiscal year 2021.

Source: Army Times

11 Comments
  1. Mary E says

    Something had to stop those warmongers..just imagine if Russia were to send ships to within a few miles off shore of our borders and tanks and personnel to Mexico 30 miles south of San Diego! It is unbelievable that Russia has the will to just wait this taunting faux war thing out….Now for a turnaround in the rest of the world where the US is bombing and has approx 400 military bases! At lease COVID has this one positive effect so far.

  2. CHUCKMAN says

    “US Soldiers in Europe for NATO’s Massive Drill Simulating War With Russia to Return Home Amid Pandemic”

    “This is the way the world ends, not with a bang, but a whimper.”

  3. IM DeRose says

    And…3, 2, 1…I hate America and I love lord god emperor Puntang…okay, I think that about covers it…if not for jUS hating and Putang worshiping, what else would there be to talk about here?

    1. Per says

      we can always talk about MGP 🤔 😂Weak trolling, you need to up ur game or run back to the guardian…
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_dWvTCdDQ4

    2. Brion Adair says

      Obviously you are suffering from rectal cranial inversion.

    3. hoyeru says

      oh, we can talk about LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTS of other things, trolly boy.
      For example, the illegal invasion and occupation of Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq. All the lies USA/NATO have said over the years about “babies taken out of incubators”, “weapons of mass distraction”. The illegal sanctions against Venezuela, Russia, etc.
      So, what you wanna talk about, trolly boy? CHoose.

  4. Melville Pouwels says

    thats all you deserve yank, for crowding the russians..
    am wondering though, who picks up the bill for your covid19 shenaganins ?
    bet the prissy bloody yank dosent ! GOD, wouldnt it be amazing if the ruskies had somehow managed to set all this up ?

    1. itchyvet says

      Question, How many of these troops have contracted the virus and are carrying it, spreading it further wherever they go ? On their return to the U.S. mainland, are they confined until cleared for the virus ?????????

  5. cechas vodobenikov says

    apparently US special forces r incompetent—-my friend Dima, a former member of the Serbian special forces, claims that they r mocked by French, Russian, etc special forces—the elite in UK r not British—they r Nepalese Gurkas

    1. JustPassingThrough says

      The Gurkas have always been feared as soldiers.

  6. JustPassingThrough says

    the murikans called for a war and no one came. so sad. one track minded morons. porn hub to report record earnings as these neanderthals vent their testosterone on cyber satisfactions.

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