Showing posts with label Black Sea region. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Black Sea region. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 26, 2024
NATO Secretary General with the Prime Minister of Georgia 🇬🇪 Irakli Kobakhidze,18 MAR 2024
A turkish Navy frigate visited Batumi as part of military training for the Georgian Coast Guard.
Wednesday, February 21, 2024
Wednesday, March 30, 2022
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Alliance in the Balance:SecDef Mattis Goes To Europe
Secretary of Defense James Mattis was naturally front and center on his first visit to NATO headquarters at Brussels for a Defence Ministerial in his new position;yet as Russia seemed to be challenging America's new President,Donald Trump,in manifold ways,the SecDef became a figure even larger than life than he already was.Defence Ministers and journalists alike crowded round him and carefully weighed his words as a nervous world craved a sense of certainty regarding the US role in international politics today under a controversial populist president:
The first time NATO went to war was when the US was attacked,so if anyone has any questions about the value,you have to look at that,General Mattis told reporters flying to Europe with him on an E-4B airborne national command post.More importantly,it prevented war in Europe following two destructive wars,and we clearly see the value in deterring war.So this is a historic and,as you know,it's also a very important meeting.I wouldn't miss it,obviously.So our commitment remains to NATO and,in terms of NATO's life,it's in the midst of transformation.Why?You've watched as the character of war over these last dozen years has changed itself;and as the character of war changes,so must the character of the militaries that address it.
To show NATO's commitment to this,you'll notice that the only NATO command headquartered in the US is the Supreme Allied Command for NATO Transformation.The whole point of that command is to transform NATO,so we rightly go to Brussels where we all talk together;we talk about that transformation;we guide it.NATO has transformed over these past 20 years and it must continue to transform,but,in that regard,it's clearly in NATO's best interest to adapt to what happened in 2014-2014 was a watershed year when most of our hopes for some kind of partnership with Russia were finally shown to be unavailing.So what we've got to do is adapt and make certain that the Transatlantic bond remains strong;and I think that,in going there,what we're also doing is proving that we can once again adapt to those changing circumstances.
I'm going to listen.I've been absent from active duty for three and a half years;I'm going to listen and see where everyone's thinking is at out there.Listen first;learn what other people face;help them if I can,because they've been allies,they've stood by us-New York was attacked,and so many decades before that and since,and so many of them have lost boys,lads and women in fighting the enemy that attacked America-and then lead;America has a leadership role.*
The context of this trip to Europe is an egregious violation by Russia of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty of 1987 in deploying their new nuclear capable ground-based cruise missile,the SSC-8,after nearly a decade of illegal development and testing.As well,Russian fighter aircraft dangerously buzzed a US Navy guided missile destroyer,the USS Porter (DDG 78) in the Black Sea with their identification transponders turned off and disregarding repeated calls from the Porter.On top of this,the Russian spy ship SSV-175 Viktor Leonov had cruised farther north along the US coast than ever before,loitering 30 miles south of the US Navy nuclear submarine base at Groton,Connecticut today,15 February.It had
ventured near another nuclear submarine base at Kings Bay,Georgia on a previous voyage.All this leads one to conclude that Russia is currently testing new President Donald Trump's will,and that of NATO as a whole.
The first time NATO went to war was when the US was attacked,so if anyone has any questions about the value,you have to look at that,General Mattis told reporters flying to Europe with him on an E-4B airborne national command post.More importantly,it prevented war in Europe following two destructive wars,and we clearly see the value in deterring war.So this is a historic and,as you know,it's also a very important meeting.I wouldn't miss it,obviously.So our commitment remains to NATO and,in terms of NATO's life,it's in the midst of transformation.Why?You've watched as the character of war over these last dozen years has changed itself;and as the character of war changes,so must the character of the militaries that address it.
To show NATO's commitment to this,you'll notice that the only NATO command headquartered in the US is the Supreme Allied Command for NATO Transformation.The whole point of that command is to transform NATO,so we rightly go to Brussels where we all talk together;we talk about that transformation;we guide it.NATO has transformed over these past 20 years and it must continue to transform,but,in that regard,it's clearly in NATO's best interest to adapt to what happened in 2014-2014 was a watershed year when most of our hopes for some kind of partnership with Russia were finally shown to be unavailing.So what we've got to do is adapt and make certain that the Transatlantic bond remains strong;and I think that,in going there,what we're also doing is proving that we can once again adapt to those changing circumstances.
I'm going to listen.I've been absent from active duty for three and a half years;I'm going to listen and see where everyone's thinking is at out there.Listen first;learn what other people face;help them if I can,because they've been allies,they've stood by us-New York was attacked,and so many decades before that and since,and so many of them have lost boys,lads and women in fighting the enemy that attacked America-and then lead;America has a leadership role.*
The context of this trip to Europe is an egregious violation by Russia of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty of 1987 in deploying their new nuclear capable ground-based cruise missile,the SSC-8,after nearly a decade of illegal development and testing.As well,Russian fighter aircraft dangerously buzzed a US Navy guided missile destroyer,the USS Porter (DDG 78) in the Black Sea with their identification transponders turned off and disregarding repeated calls from the Porter.On top of this,the Russian spy ship SSV-175 Viktor Leonov had cruised farther north along the US coast than ever before,loitering 30 miles south of the US Navy nuclear submarine base at Groton,Connecticut today,15 February.It had
ventured near another nuclear submarine base at Kings Bay,Georgia on a previous voyage.All this leads one to conclude that Russia is currently testing new President Donald Trump's will,and that of NATO as a whole.
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
Not Reluctant,but Surprised:Canadians Must Lead a Battalion on NATO's Eastern Flank
Canadian soldiers find themselves among the leaders of the defence of NATO's Eastern Flank in the Baltic States and Poland,the Canadian Broadcasting Corportion revealed.Instead of playing a supportive role perhaps more in line with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's aspirations,Canada will now be dispatching at least 450 troops to Latvia next year to head one of NATO's four Framework Battalions agreed at the Alliance's recent Warsaw Summit.In addition to providing its own troops,Canada must also ensure there are enough personnel from other member countries to fill out the rest of the billets.When France bowed out of the leadership role because of heavy commitments of its forces to the domestic Operation Sentinelle against Islamist extremists,the US and UK urged Canada to take the lead in protecting Latvia.The US,UK and Germany are the other three nations that will provide Framework Battalions in the region:the US in Poland;the UK in Estonia;and Germany in Lithuania.The four battalions will amount to about 4,000 soldiers-or one brigade.After 6-9 months of service,other NATO members will assume the battalion leadership roles.*
France said it would provide 4300 troops for NATO service this year,but wanted out of the leadership role because of the strain domestic terrorism and other commitments were having on its military.Italy,Slovakia,Croatia,Poland and a Spanish-Portuguese unit are being mentioned as possibilities for Canada to draw upon to fill out its battalion.The four battalions express a doctrine known as Forward Enhanced Presence devised by NATO military planners upon request.It's new;it's groundbreaking,said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg of Norway.It's a defensive,proportionate response to Russia illegally annexing Crimea from Ukraine.The battalions will last as long as necessary.Russia has invested heavily and modernised its forces;it has even used its forces to interfere with the sovereignty of another country,Ukraine.The battalions are only one element of the FEP strategy;there is also the ability to reinforce NATO forces that is being developed through new headquarters,infrastructure,storage of equipment and supplies,Mr.Stoltenberg pointed out.Our military planners have also been asked to devise plans to increase our Black Sea region presence near Romania and Bulgaria in the air and at sea to complement the new Romainan-Bulgarian brigade that is being formed on land.*
Another key element of the new FEP strategy is the US quadrupling its expenditure in Europe by providing a second armoured brigade combat team of about 5,000 continuously rotated troops in addition to the brigade it already maintains.What is more,it is providing a set of equipment for a third armoured brigade which NATO forces can draw upon in a crisis.*
Canada's members of Parliament are asking who is joining their battalion;what equipment they will bring;and what the plan is in the event of a crisis,the CBC reported.
France said it would provide 4300 troops for NATO service this year,but wanted out of the leadership role because of the strain domestic terrorism and other commitments were having on its military.Italy,Slovakia,Croatia,Poland and a Spanish-Portuguese unit are being mentioned as possibilities for Canada to draw upon to fill out its battalion.The four battalions express a doctrine known as Forward Enhanced Presence devised by NATO military planners upon request.It's new;it's groundbreaking,said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg of Norway.It's a defensive,proportionate response to Russia illegally annexing Crimea from Ukraine.The battalions will last as long as necessary.Russia has invested heavily and modernised its forces;it has even used its forces to interfere with the sovereignty of another country,Ukraine.The battalions are only one element of the FEP strategy;there is also the ability to reinforce NATO forces that is being developed through new headquarters,infrastructure,storage of equipment and supplies,Mr.Stoltenberg pointed out.Our military planners have also been asked to devise plans to increase our Black Sea region presence near Romania and Bulgaria in the air and at sea to complement the new Romainan-Bulgarian brigade that is being formed on land.*
Another key element of the new FEP strategy is the US quadrupling its expenditure in Europe by providing a second armoured brigade combat team of about 5,000 continuously rotated troops in addition to the brigade it already maintains.What is more,it is providing a set of equipment for a third armoured brigade which NATO forces can draw upon in a crisis.*
Canada's members of Parliament are asking who is joining their battalion;what equipment they will bring;and what the plan is in the event of a crisis,the CBC reported.
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