Watch Video | Listen to the AudioCHRIS LIVESAY, PBS NEWSHOUR WEEKEND: In the port city of Bremerhaven on Germany’s North Sea coast, approximately 4-thousand American troops and 25-hundred vehicles began arriving in early January. Known as the Iron Brigade, they’re from the Army’s 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team of the 4th Infantry Division, based in Fort Carson, Colorado. This is the largest deployment of U-S forces in Europe since the end of the Cold War 25 years ago. It’s part of the European Reassurance Initiative and Operation Atlantic Resolve — a three-and-a-half billion dollar effort paid for by the United States to reinforce NATO. MAJ. GEN. TIMOTHY MCGUIRE: I am very proud that we’re a member of NATO. CHRIS LIVESAY: At the start of the deployment, Army Major General Tim McGuire joked by rushing to meet the deadline set by the Obama Administration, his units weren’t able to change their vehicle camouflage. MAJ. GEN. TIMOTHY MCGUIRE: To get them here as scheduled in January, just do not have time to paint them green. CHRIS LIVESAY: But the Army is anxious to deliver a serious message: to demonstrate to allies and adversaries alike the U.S. is determined to assist NATO in defending Eastern Europe from potential aggression from Russia. MAJ. GEN. TIMOTHY MCGUIRE: The combat power here is a tangible sign of the continued commitment of the United States of America. It is one that enables us to work with our allies and send a message that we remain committed. BRIGADE COMMANDER COLONEL CHRISTOPHER NORRIE: You’ve got tanks here… CHRIS LIVESAY: Brigade commander Colonel Christopher Norrie describes his unit as “lethal.” BRIGADE COMMANDER COLONEL CHRISTOPHER NORRIE: So we’re an armored brigade combat team. So as part of that team we have tanks, Bradleys, we have indirect fire systems, Paladins, we have a whole range of vehicles that make up our team here. BRIGADE COMMANDER COLONEL CHRISTOPHER NORRIE: You can see now, you’ve got one ship here, one ship there, both offloading all of our equipment in preparation for onward movement. CHRIS LIVESAY: Norrie’s troops spent the past year training for this mission. BRIGADE COMMANDER COLONEL CHRISTOPHER NORRIE: What’s up iron strong! CHRIS LIVESAY: Algenon Lewis and Thomas Rodriguez are Army mechanics. PVT THOMAS RODRIGUEZ, U.S. ARMY: This is my first time in Europe, pretty excited to be here. Going to miss home, but it’s also nice to be here helping out our NATO allies. CHRIS LIVESAY: These soldiers concede outside of their families few folks back home may know about their assignment. PVT THOMAS RODRIGUEZ, U.S. ARMY: Probably not. Probably not, honestly. I don’t think they do. SGT. ALGENON LEWIS, U.S. ARMY: I don’t think a lot of them know what NATO actually does. CHRIS LIVESAY: Under NATO, the U.S., Canada, and 26 other nations pledge to defend each other in case of attack. In 2014, Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine, which is not a NATO member. But that sent jitters across Europe, especially in the five NATO countries bordering Russian territory, Poland, Finland, and the former Soviet Republics of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. CHRIS LIVESAY: After international sanctions were imposed on Russia, then-President Obama pledged to beef up American military presence in Europe which had shrunk from its Cold War level, over 300-thousand troops to 120-thousand in 2000 and 65-thousand in 2015. CHRIS LIVESAY: Six days after arriving in Germany, Colonel Norrie’s military convoy reached the first of those nervous border states, Poland, where U-S troops will begin the fi...
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