![\"Last](\"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Last-tanks.jpg\")
<\/a><\/center><\/p>\nJust three years ago, we talked about<\/a> the last US tanks leaving Germany for the first time since they rolled over the bridges into Germany in 1945. Yesterday, General Curtis Scaparrotti, this administration’s nominee to be NATO commander, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the US needed a permanent armored brigade to properly meet our commitments to our allies in Europe in the face of a Russian threat, according to Reuters<\/a>.<\/p>\n Scaparrotti told lawmakers a resurgent Russia was displaying “increasingly aggressive behavior that challenges the international norms, often in violation of international law.”<\/p>\n Asked about U.S. forces in Europe, he said a permanent U.S. armored brigade would be better at deterring Russia than the current rotational presence.<\/p>\n The United States began reducing its presence in the region several years ago due to big cuts in defense spending, replacing permanent units with rotations of troops that traveled to Europe for training.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Army forces will rotating into Eastern Europe for nine months at a time leaving the equipment for the unit that rotates behind them. That’s supposed to save money somehow. An armored brigade would be little more than a speed bump for the Russians – but it’s the best idea that we can afford at the moment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"