IN-DEPTH BRIEFING // #89 // APRIL 25
AUTHOR
DEPLOYING AN ARMOURED DIVISION:
Major Scott W Russell is the Chief of Operations of the 1st US Cavalry Division. He has been an exchange officer in the US Army since June 2023, and forward deployed to Eastern Europe with the Division HQ in May 2024.
The Centre for Historical Analysis and Conflict Research is the British Army’s think tank and tasked with enhancing the conceptual component of its fighting power. The views expressed in this In Depth Briefing are those of the author, and not of the CHACR, Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Ministry of Defence or British Army. The aim of the briefing is to provide a neutral platform for external researchers and experts to offer their views on critical issues. This document cannot be reproduced or used in part or whole without the permission of the CHACR. www.chacr.org.uk
US ARMY FORCE PROJECTION
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HE US Army routinely deploys armoured divisions overseas, which is something the British Army has not done since the invasion of Iraq in 2003. With the RussoUkraine War continuing in full spate and the NATO security context rapidly evolving, the British Army must give serious consideration to how it deploys its armoured forces to Eastern Europe and how it sustains them at warfighting consumption rates during large scale combat operations.
In the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the US demonstrated its commitment to NATO through its rapid surge of forces into Eastern Europe, and its longer-term commitment to enhance its Army Prepositioned Stocks in Europe. However, since January 2025, the US government has repeatedly stated that its European NATO allies must step up and take the lead for European security.1 A change in the US Army’s force posture or a realignment of capabilities in Eastern Europe is not inconceivable.2 And yet, the war in Ukraine rages on,
and this makes it all the more important that the British Army considers, with a critical eye, its own processes for deploying its armoured forces to Europe. This In-Depth Briefing examines how the US Army projects its forces to Europe. Firstly, by focusing on the 1st Cavalry Division’s (1CD) 10-month rotational deployment in 2024, it outlines how armoured divisions are routinely deployed from the US to Europe. Secondly, it analyses how the US can project its forces rapidly overseas in the event of a crisis, highlighting the strategic value of the Army Prepositioned Stocks system for the US and NATO. Finally, having reviewed how the US Army deploys and sustains its armoured forces, the Briefing will then discuss considerations for the British Army in the deployment of its own forces to the continent. US ARMY PRESENCE IN EASTERN EUROPE Following the Cold War, the US gradually began to reduce its presence in Europe. By 2014, whilst it maintained a substantial garrison presence in Germany,
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the US Army had notably drawn down its troop numbers and capabilities.3 However, in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Crimea and the Donbas, it began to reinforce its presence once again. At the Warsaw Summit in 2016, NATO announced the strengthening of its Eastern flank by establishing four Enhanced Olay, M. (2025) Hesgeth Calls on NATO Allies to Lead Europe’s Security, Rules Out Support for Ukraine’s Membership, US Government, Department of Defense Press Release dated 12 Feb 2025, available at: defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/ article/4064571/hegseth-calls-on-natoallies-to-lead-europes-security-rules-outsupport-for-ukr
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Whilst no plans have been announced to draw down US troops from Europe, it was reported in the media in March 2025 that the US Government is considering moving personnel from Germany to another European Country such as Hungary (Stringer, C. (2025) Trump Considers Pulling Troops out of Germany, The Telegraph, dated 7 March 2025, available at: telegraph.co.uk/ us/politics/2025/03/07/donald-trumpconsiders-pulling-troops-out-of-germany)
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Lostumbo, M., McNerney, M., Peltz, E., Eaton, D., Frelinger, D., Greenfield, V., Halliday, J., Mills, P., Nardulli, B., Pettyjohn, S., Sollinger, J., Worman, S. (2013) Overseas Basing of U.S. Military Forces: An Assessment of Relative Costs and Strategic Benefits, RAND Research Report, p.8-9, available at: rand.org/pubs/research_ reports/RR201.html
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