Pentagon Increases Military Presence in Atlantic

The recovery of high power competition and the increased presence of Russia requires that NATO be refocused to the Atlantic, to ensure dedication on the continent, and to demonstrate preventative skills”, said Pentagon spokesman Johnny Michael.

The new NATO command “will be key to transatlantic security”, he has said. The plan to increase the presence in the Atlantic has been approved during a meeting of NATO defence ministers in February, as part of efforts to boost safety on maritime lines and communications lines between Europe and North America.

Pentagon decision reflects growing concern in Europe and inside NATO, after increasing Russia's military presence and patrols in the Atlantic region.

Russia has added patrols to the Baltic Sea, North Atlantic and Arctic, NATO officials have said, even though Russia's navy is smaller than it was in the time of the Cold War.

Despite data showing that the weakened economy has forced Moscow to cut military spending by 20 percent last year, Czech Army General Petr Pavel, who is chairman of the NATO Military Committee, has said during an interview for Radio Free Europe should continue to build its defence.

“Russian military forces, such as the conventional ones and the nuclear ones are large”, he said.

We just can't allow it to increase its defence capacities in all services and domains. Therefore, we must react”, he said.

Under the new plan, the United States will establish NATO's new Altantic Command headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, where the Pentagon is offering to hold a meeting of NATO Joint Forces Command.

Secretary - General NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, had told reporters during February that we have seen a more secure Russia, we have seen a Russia that over many years has invested a lot in military capabilities, modernised military capabilities, which are not only conventional forces, but also nuclear forces”.

He has said the new Atlantic Command will be vital to the Alliance, so that it will be able to respond. NATO has also established a new logistics command, expected to be deployed in Germany.

At the same time, American naval forces have restored the second fleet, which had left in 2011, as a measure to save funds.

Admiral John Richardson, who is chief of naval operations, has said that this movement is behind the security environment “continues to become more challenging and more complex”.

Marina has said the new command will oversee ships, planes and land forces in the East Coast and north Atlantic Ocean and will be responsible for training forces and conducting sea operations in the region.

Command will begin operations on July 1st. This command will report to the U.S. Navy and will initially include 11 officers and 4 people within personnel. This number of staff will then increase to more than 250 people, the Pentagon has announced.