Polish, US relations strong - Gen. Hodges
U.S. Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, the commander of U.S. Army forces in Europe, said in Warsaw on Sunday that relations between the United States and Poland were very strong.
The commander said he was an optimist as regards the next NATO summit which will be held in Warsaw in 2016. The most important goal of the meeting is to demonstrate the alliance's unity, according to Hodges.
Twenty-eight countries get engaged in collective defence of all 28 countries. Russia is not the only security threat, as the Islamic State and the migrant crisis are all issues that we should work together on, also with the EU, the commander argued.
The general said that there was a need for more efficiency in the flow of equipment and troops within NATO and the EU. In mid-2016 NATO will have over 600 vehicles in Poland as a permanent force, according to Hodges, who added that such equipment was also located in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Germany.
The biggest number of vehicles will be in the Polish training base, as well as soldiers who will train with their Polish allies, Hodges noted.
The commander also stressed that all 28 NATO members needed to strengthen their defence capabilities, which involved an increase in defence spending to 2 percent of GDP.
While in Warsaw, Hodges laid flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and offered wishes to Poles and Polish soldiers on the occasion of the country's Independence Day of November 11.
Rotational training of US troops in Poland and other countries of the region are part of the Atlantic Resolve operation launched in response to Russia's annexation of Crimea and its actions in Ukraine. The permanent rotational presence involves shifts of several hundred troops representing various types of armed forces.
In early October, Poland and the United States signed an agreement on the location of future US heavy military equipment depots in Poland. (PAP)
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