U.S. to Send Troops to Poland and Romania

The United States will soon move additional forces to Romania, Poland and Germany. I want to be very clear about something. These are not permanent moves. They are moves designed to respond to the current security environment. Moreover, these forces are not going to fight in Ukraine. They are going to ensure the robust defense of our NATO allies. First, 1,000 soldiers that are currently based in Germany will reposition to Romania in the coming days. This is a Stryker squadron, a mounted cavalry unit that’s designed to deploy in short order and to move quickly once in place. And they will augment the some 900 U.S. forces that are currently in Romania. Second, we are moving an additional force of about approximately 2,000 troops from the United States to Europe in the next few days. The 82nd Airborne Division is deploying components of an infantry brigade combat team and key enablers to Poland, and the 18th Airborne Corps is moving a joint task force-capable headquarters to Germany. Third and finally, all of these forces are separate and in addition to the 8,500 personnel in the United States on heightened alert posture that I announced last week. Those 8,500 are not currently being deployed but remain ready to move if called for the NATO response force or as needed for other contingencies as directed by the secretary or by President Biden.