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Table of contents
1. NATO Struggles to Muster 'Spearhead Force' to Counter Russia; Promised Rapid-Reaction Force
Proves Costly, Logistically Difficult for
Europe............................................................................................................

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Document 1 of 1

NATO Struggles to Muster 'Spearhead Force' to Counter Russia; Promised Rapid-Reaction Force
Proves Costly, Logistically Difficult for Europe
Author: Fidler, Stephen
ProQuest document link
Abstract: [...]setting it up is proving harder than expected because defense budgets are already stretched to
their limits and much of NATO's Cold War-era infrastructure has disappeared.
Full text: BRUSSELS--Three months after NATO agreed to set up a rapid-reaction force to ease its eastern
allies' fears about Russia, the task is providing an object lesson in the limitations of Europe's military
capabilities.
Foreign ministers from the 28-nation North Atlantic Treaty Organization meet Tuesday in Brussels to review
progress on the so-called spearhead force that leaders pledged to create at their September summit in Wales.
The plan is to create by 2016 a brigade-size force of up to 5,000 ground troops, ready to head to trouble spots
at a couple of days' notice, along with air and naval support.
European governments want to be in the lead in providing the ground forces and not leave the job to
Washington.
Diplomats say they are sure the force will be established in full and on time--not least because the alliance's
credibility depends on it. But setting it up is proving harder than expected because defense budgets are already
stretched to their limits and much of NATO's Cold War-era infrastructure has disappeared.
"The challenge is that NATO hasn't done this for two decades," Douglas Lute, U.S. ambassador to NATO, said
Monday.
In operations in the Balkans and in Afghanistan, NATO allies had months to prepare for deployments, he said.
Now "we need something that's at the ready."
Leaders decided to set up the rapid-reaction force in part because they thought it would be cheaper than
placing standing forces in countries on the group's eastern flank.
Some governments also wanted to avoid breaching a 1997 agreement between NATO and Russia. That
agreement said that "in the current and foreseeable security environment," NATO foresees no "additional
permanent stationing of substantial combat forces near the border with Russia."
It isn't clear now whether the spearhead force will end up costing less than sending in permanent forces.
Keeping 5,000 troops on high alert requires large amount of logistical support, for example, to be able to move
them rapidly, along with backing from the air and possibly the sea, as well as special forces.
NATO is also debating what equipment it should preposition on its eastern flank to make deployment easier-and will need to establish command-and-control operations and contingencies for troop reinforcement if
necessary to sustain a deployment.
One person involved in the discussions said there was "a high level of angst" about how much more of a burden
the force would impose on defense budgets.
One important discussion has been about how to share costs among the allies, which Mr. Lute said has been
lively. "We haven't decided where the bill is going to fall here. You can imagine that that's a big deal because
forces of that size and that readiness are not inexpensive," he said.
Europe's militaries have geared their capabilities in recent years to expeditionary efforts like in Afghanistan.
Now, with Russia flexing its muscles in Ukraine and other former-Soviet countries on NATO's borders, they see
the need to switch back toward their traditional task of collective self-defense.
One example: Europe's ability to ship large amounts of heavy military equipment across the Continent has
shrunk dramatically since the end of the Cold War. The flatbed rail trucks that were used to ship armored
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personnel carriers, for instance, are no longer in service.

"We have found that standing up that capability has more difficulty involved than perhaps the alliance
expected," said Adam Thomson, the U.K. ambassador to NATO. This is, he said, "because we have moved so
far away from the capabilities that the alliance developed for collective defense through the Cold War."
One issue under debate is how many countries will provide the spearhead force for the expected yearlong
deployments.
Each one-year deployment would also require a year of preparation and a year of winding down, so diplomats
said that ideally more countries beyond the U.K., France and Germany--Europe's three largest militaries--would
step up to contribute.
Diplomats said European governments are trying to avoid asking the U.S. to provide ground troops for the
spearhead force, acknowledging the large role that it is likely to play in providing intelligence, special forces,
transport, air and sea support.
Jens Stoltenberg, NATO secretary-general, said that Germany, the Netherlands and Norway have agreed to
establish an interim force next year.
It would have a higher degree of readiness than the existing NATO Response Force from which it would be
drawn, and which is meant to be able to move in five days, although would likely take longer in practice.
This way, he said, "we get more readiness sooner than expected."
Write to Stephen Fidler at
Credit: By Stephen Fidler
Subject: Alliances; Diplomatic & consular services; Cold War;
Location: Russia, Europe, Afghanistan, Wales
People: Lute, Douglas
Company / organization: Name: North Atlantic Treaty Organization--NATO; NAICS: 928120;
Publication title: Wall Street Journal (Online)
Pages: n/a
Publication year: 2014
Publication date: Dec 1, 2014
Section: World
Publisher: Dow Jones & Company Inc
Place of publication: New York, N.Y.
Country of publication: United States
Publication subject: Business And Economics
Source type: Newspapers
Language of publication: English
Document type: News
ProQuest document ID: 1628963165
Document URL: http://search.proquest.com/docview/1628963165?accountid=12003
Copyright: (c) 2014 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Reproduced with permission of copyright owner. Further
reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.

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Last updated: 2014-12-02

Database: ProQuest Central

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