Stratfor, 14 Dec 2016

The United States will speed up the deployment of troops to Poland, Romania and the Baltic states, Polish and U.S. defense officials said Dec. 14, AP reported. An armored Brigade Combat Team from Fort Carson in Colorado will deploy to western Poland in early January. The deployment was originally set to take place toward the middle or end of the month. Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, the commander of U.S. land troops in Europe, said troops will arrive Jan. 6 in Germany’s port of Bremerhaven and quickly deploy to Poland, Romania and the Baltic states. The move to accelerate the deployment – which will now take place before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump – appears to be a signal of continuing U.S. support for countries in Europe’s borderlands. It comes at a time when many in the region are concerned about the possibility of weakening support from the new administration.