ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

Combining two key Army commands serves as a “win” for the U.S. and its allies ahead of a major multinational exercise in Africa later this year, a senior Army leader said. 

“We’re very excited about the merger,” Gen. Christopher Cavoli, commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, said Feb. 23 during a press call. 

He added that “the consolidation of our two commands is a win for Africa and a win for the United States Army.”

A plan to move almost 12,000 U.S. troops out of Germany, including the Army’s 2nd Cavalry Regiment, is on hold, President Joe Biden announced Feb. 4.

In a speech at the State Department, Biden said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will be “leading a global posture review of our forces so that our military footprint is appropriately aligned with our foreign policy and national security priorities.”

He added, “While this review is taking place, we’ll be stopping any planned troop withdrawals from Germany.”

Consolidating Army operations in Europe and Africa under one command is better preparing the U.S. to face near-peer competitors, says Gen. Christopher Cavoli, commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa.

Gen. Christopher Cavoli, commander of the newly consolidated U.S. Army Europe and Africa, will speak Feb. 3 at a webinar hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army.

The event, part of The AUSA Noon Report series, begins at noon Eastern. It is free, but registration is required here.

The French army will test its new warfighting doctrine this spring in a major exercise with U.S. and British forces as it prepares to face a future fight against a state adversary.

Much like the U.S. Army’s Multi-Domain Operations concept, which assumes strategic challenges from a near-peer adversary on land, air, sea, cyber and space, the “Strategic Vision of the Chief of Staff of the French Army: 2030 Operational Superiority” addresses the need for shared vision and interoperability among its Allies and partners. 

Army operations in Europe and Africa will now fall under a new command called U.S. Army Europe and Africa, the service announced.

The move consolidates Army Europe and Army Africa into one command that will serve as the Army service component command for U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command. It will be led by Gen. Christopher Cavoli, the Army Europe commander since January 2018 who was approved by the Senate for a fourth star and this new assignment on Sept. 30.

The Army’s 2nd Cavalry Regiment is expected to continue playing a key role in Europe even as the Pentagon carries out a plan to bring the Stryker unit home to the U.S. 

Speaking Oct. 20 at the Atlantic Council, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that after talks with his counterparts in Romania and Bulgaria as well as the Baltic States, “there is now the real opportunity of keeping the 2nd Cavalry Regiment forward in some of these countries on an enduring basis.”

Seven years after it was deactivated, the Army’s storied V Corps was reactivated Oct. 16 in a ceremony at Fort Knox, Kentucky.

Commanded by Lt. Gen. John Kolasheski, V Corps will be based at Fort Knox but have a forward-deployed command element in Poznan, Poland, as part of a shift in U.S. presence in Europe. The V Corps flag was unfurled in an Aug. 4 ceremony in Poland, and the first rotation of 200 soldiers is expected to arrive sometime in fiscal year 2021.

In total, the corps headquarters will have about 600 soldiers.

European allies remain vital to U.S. national security, but the U.S. military’s current posture in the region is “too small and without depth,” a former commander of U.S. Army Europe testified before Congress.

In testimony during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on the role of allies and partners in U.S. military strategy and operations, retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges reiterated his stance that the decision announced by DoD on July 29 to draw down 12,000 troops from Europe “is a mistake in my view.”

The commanding general of U.S. Army Europe will receive a fourth star and lead a newly consolidated command that will support operations in both Europe and Africa.

Lt. Gen. Christopher Cavoli, who has led Army Europe since January 2018, was confirmed by the Senate Sep. 30. He now will lead U.S. Army Europe-Africa and provide support to U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command.

Details on the consolidated command are still being finalized, according to an Army official.