US tanks were unloaded in Bremerhaven, northern Germany, Friday Jan. 6, 2017. Ships loaded with US tanks, self-propelled howitzers and hundreds of other fighting vehicles have arrived in the northern German port en route to Eastern Europe to bolster NATO’s deterrence to possible Russian aggression. (Photo by INGO WAGNER/dpa via AP)
BERLIN — Ships loaded with US tanks, self-propelled howitzers and hundreds of other fighting vehicles have arrived in a northern German port en route to Eastern Europe to bolster NATO’s deterrence to possible Russian aggression.
Some 3,500 troops from the 4th Infantry Division in Fort Carson, Colorado, will join up with the equipment that arrived in port Friday over the next two weeks.
The deployment marks the start of a new phase of Operation Atlantic Resolve, which foresees the continuous presence of an American armored brigade combat team in Europe on a nine-month rotational basis.
It will consolidate first in Poland, then fan out across seven countries from Estonia to Bulgaria, where there has been unease about increased Russian military operations in the region. A headquarters unit will be stationed in Germany.