US tanks in Poland: a more political than operational deployment

(B2) The arrival of several dozen American tanks in Poland is counted down to a trickle. " The biggest redeployment since the Cold War we announce. The title can make you shudder. But let's be clear: with 83 tanks, around 500 various vehicles - from the cargo transport truck to the Humwee, all dapper in its external bodywork but aging inside -, and some 3 to 4000 men, this (re)deployment American in Poland of an armored brigade remains all in all modest.

A political gesture

This gesture is above all political, intended to show neighboring Russia that the United States is still there, and above all to reassure the population (and the governments) of Eastern Europe, who may be rightly worried to see at the border the Russians puff out their chests. The drums and trumpets that roar at the slightest movement of the American caterpillar are made for that. The goal is not so much to be militarily effective. It's about making noise.

3 to 4000 Americans: a figure to put into perspective?

This figure seems grandiose. It must be relativized by certain elements of reality. First, when the US military deploys in a place, it is with arms, baggage and enormous logistical support. Where a European soldier is needed deployed, the United States generally deploys two or three, depending on the ratio regularly observed (1). Secondly, if the materials will remain on the spot, the men will be placed in rotation in the country and not in a fixed way. It is not a question of reestablishing a significant fixed presence in Europe. Finally, this must be seen in the perspective of the American forces deployed in other European countries, which still numbered in the tens of thousands of men, mainly in Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom (2).

... but not to minimize either

That being said, this deployment should not be minimized either. This is the first time that the Americans have implanted so many men and equipment, including armored vehicles, almost permanently – if not permanently – in a country on the Russian border. A country which has a highly symbolic value, Poland being not only the largest of the countries of the East, but also a country which has been 'jostling' several times by Moscow throughout history (whether by the Russian Empire or by the USSR) (3).

(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)

(1) Testimonies collected from European officers and which I was also able to witness on certain occasions.

(2) According to latest statistics of the US Ministry of Defense (September 2016), there are still nearly 35.000 American soldiers in Germany (despite the withdrawal decisions initiated by G. Bush at the end of the 2000s), 12.000 in Italy, around 8000 in the United Kingdom United (mainly air force) and about 3000 in Spain (mainly navy). Europe in the NATO zone is thus still one of the main points of American deployment—along with the Korea-Japan zone—. Of the approximately 200.000 soldiers deployed worldwide, around 30% are deployed in Europe.

(3) Before this deployment, only about fifty US soldiers were in Poland (half Army, half US Air Force), mainly for military cooperation (F-16 in particular)

Updated with detailed US stats