Operation Atlantic Resolve


Operation Atlantic Resolve, though not a "named" operation, is ongoing efforts in response to Russia's actions in Ukraine, mainly the War in Donbass. It is funded under the European Deterrence Initiative. In the wake of Russia's 2014 intervention in Ukraine, the U.S. took several immediate steps to enhance the deterrence posture along NATO's eastern flank, including augmenting the air, ground and naval presence in the region, and enhancing previously scheduled exercises. The U.S. is taking measures to enhance NATO military plans and defense capabilities and remains committed to maintaining a persistent presence in Central Europe and Eastern Europe. Atlantic Resolve rotations are overseen by a regionally aligned headquarters there.

Road march

In March 2015, a US Army spokesman in Wiesbaden announced that a convoy of armored fighting vehicles would – after manoeuvres in Poland, Estonia and Lithuania – return via road to their garrison at Vilseck. The road march started a week later.

Assets

Aerial

The aerial assets are mostly deployed to Ämari Air Base, Graf Ignatievo Air Base, Mihail Kogălniceanu International Airport and Papa Air Base.
Air Force
The first aerial units were the 159th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron with McDonnell Douglas F-15C Eagle's and the 123d EFS with F-15C's and a single F-15D from April 2015 who stayed for six months.
This was added to by the following units:
Army
As of January 2017 there are 3,500 troops from the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, 87 tanks and 144 Bradley fighting vehicles there. They initially gathered first in Poland, before spreading out across seven countries from Estonia to Bulgaria. The brigade is headquartered in Germany. An armored brigade will constantly rotate deployment every nine months. The equipment will be permanently based in Żagań in western Poland alongside a Polish armored division seemingly 34th Armoured Cavalry Brigade, 11th Armoured Cavalry Division. This unit has been replaced by 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division in September 2017. AS of May 2018, the rotational force has changed to 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division completed their rotation during October 2019 and were replaced by 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.

Reactions

82% of Czechs approved and supported the US Army-NATO convoy that partook in Operation Dragoon Ride, according to an opinion poll that was conducted by the independent :cs:STEM|STEM agency in 2015.
A NATO deployment in the early January 2017 was welcomed by Polish officials who described it as a necessary response to Russian military exercises near its border and its military intervention in Ukraine and members of the public as the materiel crossed into south-western Poland from Germany. The same deployment sparked protests in Germany and prompted a critical reaction among the country’s centre-left political parties, but was defended by the country’s ruling Christian Democrat Party coalition and German military officials. An article about the deployment that was published by the Donbas News International agency and its subsequent circulation in the Western conspiracy-theory cybersphere and Russian mediasphere was cited as an example of the creation and spread of fake news. An editorial by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette cautioned anyone against using the deployment as a domestic political tool.