The Pentagon is shifting a battery of infantry troops and a number of helicopters and fighter jets to NATO allies in eastern Europe from bases in Germany, Greece and Italy a day after Russia said it was sending troops to bolster two breakaway separatist enclaves inside Ukraine.
A senior Department of Defense official on Tuesday said the forces are expected to be in place later this week.
The shift includes moving 800 troops from a U.S. Army battalion based in Italy — presumably part of the 173rd Airborne Brigade — to the Baltics region. Also being deployed from other bases in Europe are up to eight F-35 Strike Fighters from Germany and a battalion of 20 AH-64 helicopters, also based in Germany, which also will be sent to the Baltics, the Pentagon official said.
Another aviation task force, including about 12 AH-64 helicopters, will move from Greece to Poland, officials said.
“These moves are temporary in nature and are part of the more than 90,000 U.S. troops already in Europe on rotational and permanent orders,” the Defense Department official said. “The United States maintains significant numbers of combat-capable forces in Europe.”
