Operation Atlantic Resolve

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Wikipedia

Operation Atlantic Resolve
Also known asOAR, Atlantic Resolve
Founding leaderDepartment of Defense
CDR USEUCOM (ADCOM)
CG USAREURAF (OPCOM)		GEN Alexus Grynkewich
GEN Chris Donahue
Historical eraRusso-Ukrainian War
Mission statementClassified
Rotation type
services
  • Armored
  • Aviation
  • Sustainment task force
  • Division HQ[1]
FoundationAPR 2014 • AUG 23, 2023 (as overseas contingency operation)
Dates of operationApril 30, 2014 (2014-04-30)–pres.
Countryforward HQ  Poland
GroupsSAG-Ukraine[a]
JMTG-Ukraine[b]
MotivesDeterring Russian aggression
HeadquartersCamp Kościuszko, PL[c] 52°24′30″N 16°56′01″E / 52.4083°N 16.9336°E / 52.4083; 16.9336
Active regionsUSEUCOM AOR
Major actionsEurope forward basing
StatusActive, contingency
Size~ 80,000 personnel[5]
Part ofEuropean Deterrence Initiative (c. 2022 USAI)
Allies
Elements of:
Opponents(to be deterred):
Flag United States Armed Forces
WebsiteUSAREUR-AF
Current phase
  • Timeline
  • Outline
 Ukraine mission, since NOV 2021[e][8]
(in the US Ukraine Response)
Part of Russian invasion deterrence
Historical units posture during OAR (as of July 2017)
Operational scope
  • Training coordination
  • Forward basing
  • Equipment logistics
  • Force generation
Locations
Camp  Kościuszko  (HQ)

PL 52°24′30″N 16°54′00″E / 52.4084°N 16.9°E / 52.4084; 16.9
Tower Barracks (JMTG-U)[b]

DE 49°43′00″N 11°54′00″E / 49.7167°N 11.9°E / 49.7167; 11.9
PL Jasionka Base[f]
Plannedon 12 month horizon[g]
Planned by Joint Chiefs of Staff w/ DoD OUSD(P)[h]
Commanded by CDR USEUCOM (ADCOM
with LTG Curtis A. Buzzard)[11]  CG USAREUR- AF (OPCOM)
Objective
DateAPR 2014 • NOV 2021 • present (CET UTC+01:00/CEST UTC+02:00)
Executed by(since NOV 2022) COM SAG–U / NSATU (dual hatted),[a] with UDCG deliverables[i]
OutcomeMission ongoing and evolving[j]
Prior to 2022:
One ABCT, one SBCT permanent
deployment to Germany, Italy[9]
Since 2022:
Operation Atlantic Resolve is located in Central Europe
HQ, Poznan
HQ, Poznan
JMTG-U, Grafenwoehr
JMTG-U, Grafenwoehr
Central Europe | OAR main sites: DE, PL
Notes
    1. 1 2 As of October 2025; since December 2024.[2] See SAG Ukraine at the bottom of the infobox
    2. 1 2 Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine.[3] Previously the Combat Training Center-Yavoriv ( International Peacekeeping and Security Centre in Ukraine), active since 2015, it was relocated from Yavoriv, and other training sites in Ukraine in February 2022.[4]
    3. ↑ Forward HQ coordinates the rotational armored, aviation, and sustainment task forces that train and operate across NATO’s eastern flank, linking together activities in countries like Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary.
    4. ↑ In 2022, Belarus allowed Russia to use its territory to launch the invasion and to launch missiles into Ukraine. See: Belarusian involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
    5. ↑ Evolved with policy objectives. Mission statement is updated in classified Executive orders.[6]: 5 Infobox 
    6. ↑ Includes Remote Maintenance and Distribution Cell–Ukraine (RDC-U), responsible for the maintenance and repair of equipment once donated to the AFU, smaller locations, such as logistical Support Area Eagle, and the Aerial Port of Debarkation South (APOD South).[7]: 89 
    7. ↑ As of October 2025, OAR is designated by SecDef as overseas contingency operation (OCO) following the activation of reserve forces in support of OAR. OCO is normally budgeted out of baseline DoD budget, and within yearly planning (done by the US, in collaboration with NATO allies/partners' military leaders).[6]: 6 Table 1  [9] As of March 2025, $33.512 billion were appropriated, $23.29 billion obligated, and $12.469 billion disbursed under USAI since FY2022. USAI is a program that authorizes the Secretary of Defense, with concurrence from the Secretary of State, to provide appropriate security assistance and intelligence support to Ukraine. Such assistance can include training, defense articles, logistics support, supplies, and services to military and other Ukrainian security forces.[10]: 27 Table 5 
    8. ↑ Office of Undersecretary of Defence (Policy)[10]: 58 
    9. ↑ Before 2025, with deliverables of IDCC, International Donors Coordination Centre, whose responsibilities were taken over by NSATU.[12]
    10. ↑ USEUCOM said that it assesses the status of OAR through regular meetings with NATO allies and partners to discuss progress and challenges; measures of performance and effectiveness to track progress toward desired end states; the conduct and evaluation of combined exercises and training events; the development and implementation of initiatives aimed at enhancing NATO’s capabilities; and by reviewing quantitative changes to the number of U.S. troops in Europe and public support for NATO and U.S. forces in Europe.[7]: 43 
    11. ↑ As of August 2025 average cargo tonnage through Poland LEN hub only[13]
    12. ↑ As of April 2025, by SAG-U Operations Kyiv, at least, to the front-line locations, non-locally authorized.[10]: 58 
    13. ↑ As of October 2024 average US- only SAG- U personnel stationed under authority of the Chief of US Mission in Kyiv, Ukraine.[6]: 37 
    14. ↑ As of December 2024, non- NATO units, including rotational deployment of up to 2 BCTs in Central and Eastern Europe with 9,000+ steady troops in Poland.[5]
    15. ↑ As of July 2025 by international community since February 2022.[7]: 44 T.10  As reported in October 2024, US accounted for ~ 17% of that training.[6]: 46 Infobox 
    16. ↑ Starting NOV 2021, the newly reactivated V Corps has assumed command and control of all OAR rotational forces.[14]
   SAG–Ukraine
   (USEUCOM)
Assessment criteria[7]: 43 
  • Qualitatively: progress to desired end states
  • Quantatively: number of US troops in Europe; public support for NATO, US Europe's forces
Picture gallery: SAG-U
Footnotes
    1. ↑ As Task Force Dragon, at the Base's Tony Bass Auditorium, funded by European Deterrence Initiative.[16]
    2. ↑ As long-term assistance command.[17]
    3. ↑ Including two of its planning directorate placed in NSATU command to coordinate AFU's training requirements. [10]: 45  SAG- U's multinational personnel is collocated with NSATU HQ[13] (prior to 2025, with informal International Donor Coordination Centre, IDCC, of more then 50 countries, under UK Brigadier command; IDCC handed over its responsibilities to NSATU).[7]: 44  SAG- U US- only personnel includes up to 60 experts at SAG-U Operations Kyiv (SOK) under authority of the Chief of US Mission in Kyiv.[6]: 37 Table 14 
    4. ↑ As nominated for OAR. Since December 2024, concurrently COM NSATU.[2]
    5. ↑ Concurrently NSATU Enlisted Advisor[2]
    6. ↑ In emergency staffing (then COM XVIII Airborne Corps), as Task Force Dragon Commander, till December 2022. In December 2024 promoted to CG USAREUR-AF overseeing, among others, SAG- U.[16]
    7. ↑ USA, from December 2022 till July 2024.[16]
Soldiers from Estonia, Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, Sweden and the United States at Estonia's annual Admiral Pitka Recon Challenge.

Operation Atlantic Resolve, refers to military activities in response to Russian operations in Ukraine, mainly the War in Donbas. It was funded under the European Deterrence Initiative until 2022, and by USAI since. In the wake of Russia's 2014 invasion of Ukraine, the US and the UK took several immediate steps to enhance the deterrence posture along the eastern flank of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), including augmenting the air, ground and naval presence in the region, and enhancing previously scheduled exercises.[20]

The US described the activities as taking measures to enhance NATO military plans and defense capabilities and maintaining a persistent presence in Central Europe and Eastern Europe.[20] Atlantic Resolve rotations are overseen by a regionally aligned headquarters there.[21][22] As reported by USEUCOM in the first quarter of 2025, there were no mission objectives and endstate alterations to the Operation after U.S. administration change.[10]: 5 Infobox 

Aims and funding

Operation Atlantic Resolve is a multifaceted military operation by the USEUCOM and allies to enhance security and reassure NATO and Eastern European partners. Though OAR mission statement is classified, its aims include:[10]: 5 Infobox 

  • Enhancing deterrence posture along NATO's eastern flank.
  • Multinational training events in various countries to build readiness, increase interoperability, and enhance bonds between ally and partner militaries
  • Three rotations services: armored, aerial, and sustainment task force rotations
  • Land persistent presence: U.S. Army Europe and Africa leads the Atlantic Resolve efforts to bring units based in the U.S. to Europe for nine months at a time
  • Three domains exercises: military exercises and training on land, in the air, and at sea, while sustaining and augmenting rotational presence across Europe
  • Building partner capacity in Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine so they can better work alongside the United States and NATO, as well as provide for their own defense.

The "heel-to-toe" rotations of forces in Europe are part of OAR. The European Deterrence Initiative, with USAI specifically, is the mechanism through which activities under OAR are organized and funded.[9]

Airborne operations

On April 30, 2014 United States Army and United States Air Force (USAF) military members were sent to Poland and the Baltic States of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia to conduct military exercises with partner nations in an immediate response to Russian illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula on March 18, 2014. This was on done on a bilateral basis, not as part of a larger NATO action.[23][24]

The force consisted of four companies of approximately: 150 soldiers from the 173rd BCT (Brigade Combat Team, airborne) out of Vicenza, Italy and supporting Air Force JTACs (Joint Terminal Attack Controller) from the 2nd ASOS (Air Support Operations Squadron) out of Vilseck, Germany. Troops were transported with assistance from the USAF 37th Airlift Squadron based out of Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The four companies were rotated out every ninety days through to the end of 2014 when a more formal version of Operation Atlantic Resolve was put into place.[23][24]

Road march

U.S. 3rd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment soldiers in Germany during the first "Dragoon Ride", April 2015

In March 2015, a U.S. Army spokesman in Wiesbaden announced that a convoy of armored fighting vehicles, including Strykers, would return via road to their garrison at Vilseck after manoeuvres in Poland, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania – .[25] The road march started a week later.[26]

Assets

Aerial

The aerial assets are mostly deployed to Ämari Air Base, Graf Ignatievo Air Base, Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base, Papa Air Base, and Illesheim Army Airfield.

Air Force

The first aerial units were the 159th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron (159th EFS) 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.[27]

This was added to by the following units:

Army

Ground

U.S. 2nd Cavalry Regiment Strykers during the 2015 "Dragoon Ride".

In January 2017, there were 3,500 troops from the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, 87 tanks and 144 Bradley fighting vehicles there. They initially gathered in Poland, before spreading out across seven countries from Estonia to Bulgaria. The brigade is headquartered in Germany.[43] 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[44] 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.[45]

As of May 2018, the rotational force was changed to the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.[46] The 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division completed their rotation during October 2019 and were replaced by the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.[47] 2BCT, 1CAV was replaced in approximately November or December 2020 by 1ABCT, 1CAV. In June, 2021 it was announced that 1ABCT, 1ID would replace 1ABCT, 1CAV in August 2021.

U.S. soldier guides Lithuanian Land Forces soldiers during joint military exercises in Rukla, Lithuania, October 2014

On 4 September 2020, the US Army deployed the 2nd Battalion of the 69th Armor Regiment, part of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Division, for training in Pabradė. They deployed with M1 Abrams, Bradley Fighting Vehicle, other vehicles, and material.[48]

On 8 March 2022, V Corps' main headquarters forward deployed to Germany to provide additional command and control of U.S. Army forces in Europe as part of a larger personnel build up in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Reactions

82% of Czechs approved and supported the United States Army-NATO convoy that partook in Operation Dragoon Ride, in an opinion poll that was conducted by the independent STEM agency in 2015.[49]

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.[50][51][52][53] 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 CDU/CSU coalition and German military officials.[54][55]

An article about the deployment that was published by the Donbas News International (DNI) 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.[56] An editorial by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette cautioned anyone against using the deployment as a domestic political tool.[57]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "U.S. Army Europe and Africa Operations". Retrieved 10 October 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 "Leadership". shape.nato.int/nsatu. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
  3. ↑ "Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine". U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  4. ↑ Altman, Howard (12 February 2022). "Florida National Guard troops ordered out of Ukraine by SECDEF". Military Times. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  5. 1 2 Belkin, Paul; Bowen, Andrew S.; Nelson, Rebecca M.; Welt, Cory (23 December 2024). Russia’s War Against Ukraine: U.S. Policy and the Role of Congress (Report). Congressional Research Service. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Special Inspector General for OAR Report to the Congress, Q4FY2024 (PDF) (Report). 13 November 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2025 – via media.defence.gov.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Special Inspector General for OAR Report to the Congress, Q3FY2025 (PDF) (Report). 15 August 2025. Retrieved 15 August 2025 – via media.stateoig.gov.
  8. ↑ "Tag: Ukraine Response". Retrieved 17 October 2025 – via war.gov.
  9. 1 2 3 Belkin, Paul; Kaileh, Hibbah (1 July 2021). The European Deterrence Initiative: A Budgetary Overview (PDF) (Report). Congressional Research Service. Retrieved 1 August 2025 – via Congress.gov, Library of Congress.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Special Inspector General for OAR Report to the Congress, Q2FY2025 (PDF) (Report). 2 May 2025. Retrieved 31 July 2025 – via stateoig.gov.
  11. ↑ "Transfer of Patriot units to Kyiv being prepared, says NATO's top commander". Reuters.com. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 17 July 2025 – via Reuters. «Preparations are underway, we are working very closely with the Germans on the Patriot transfer», Alexus Grynkewich told a conference in the German city of Wiesbaden. «The guidance that I have been given has been to move out as quickly as possible.»
  12. ↑ Slattery, Gram; Stone, Mike; Landay, Jonathan; Holland, Steve (17 July 2025). "Trump promised Patriots for Ukraine. Now Europe has to provide them". Reuters. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  13. 1 2 Siebold, Sabine (2 July 2025). "Military aid increasingly focuses on boosting Ukraine's defence industry". Reuters. Retrieved 16 July 2025. The United States, however, provides NSATU's commander and about 9% of its personnel in Wiesbaden.
  14. ↑ "Our Support to Atlantic Resolve U.S." Army Europe and Africa. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  15. ↑ "U.S. Security Cooperation with Ukraine–Fact Sheet". U.S. Department of State. 12 March 2025. Retrieved 27 July 2025 – via state.gov.
  16. 1 2 3 4 Entous, Adam (29 March 2025). "The Partnership: The Secret History of the War in Ukraine". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 30 March 2025.
  17. ↑ Spencer B. Meredith III. "Building Strategic Lethality: Special Operations Models for Joint Force Learning and Leader Development". Joint Force Quarterly (118, 3rd Quarter 2025): 30–41. Retrieved 29 August 2025. Two key organizations have coordinated the broad U.S.-led effort: Security Assistance Group–Ukraine (SAG-U) on the conventional side and CJSOTF-10 for special operations. Both have served as supply hubs and information conduits for the joint force, interagency, and international partners sustaining the Ukrainian war effort.
  18. ↑ Belkin, Paul; Bowen, Andrew S.; Nelson, Rebecca M.; Welt, Cory (23 December 2024). "Russia's War Against Ukraine: U.S. Policy and the Role of Congress". Congressional Research Service. Retrieved 27 July 2025 – via Congress.gov, Library of Congress.
  19. ↑ Le, Tam (1 June 2025). "Task Force Saber assumes JMTG-U mission during transfer of authority ceremony". 7th Army Training Command. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  20. 1 2 U.S. European Command. "Operation Atlantic Resolve" (PDF). www.defense.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-05-05. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  21. ↑ "Atlantic Resolve". www.eur.army.mil. Archived from the original on July 23, 2020.
  22. ↑ Shinkman, Paul D. (April 22, 2014). "U.S. Sends Airborne Infantry to Russian Front Door". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  23. 1 2 Sgt. A.M. LaVey. "173rd paratroopers arrive in Poland, Baltics for unscheduled exercises". 173rd Airborne Brigade Public Affairs. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  24. 1 2 LaVey, A.M. (May 16, 2014). "173rd paratroopers arrive in Poland, Baltics for unscheduled exercises". US ARMY. 173rd Airborne Brigade Public Affairs. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  25. ↑ "Übung "Atlantic Resolve": US-Armee schickt Schützenpanzer durch östliche Nato-Mitgliedstaaten". SPIEGEL ONLINE. 16 March 2015.
  26. ↑ "Solidaritätsaktion: Amerikaner starten "Straßenmarsch" durch Osteuropa". SPIEGEL ONLINE. 22 March 2015.
  27. ↑ AirForces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. June 2015. p. 46.
  28. 1 2 AirForces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. April 2015. p. 10.
  29. 1 2 3 AirForces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. November 2015. p. 15.
  30. ↑ "74th EFS completes 'far-reaching' European deployment". USAF. 21 March 2016. Archived from the original on 17 June 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  31. 1 2 AirForces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. May 2016. p. 12.
  32. 1 2 AirForces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. October 2016. p. 95.
  33. ↑ AirForces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. September 2016. p. 30.
  34. 1 2 AirForces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. October 2016. p. 10.
  35. 1 2 AirForces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. October 2017. p. 16.
  36. ↑ AirForces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. February 2018. p. 14.
  37. ↑ AirForces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. May 2019. p. 14.
  38. ↑ "Army taps Fort Hood aviation unit for Europe deployment". Stars and Stripes. March 5, 2019.
  39. ↑ "1st Combat Aviation Brigade rotation to arrive in Europe". Stars and Stripes. March 5, 2019.
  40. 1 2 AirForces Monthly. Stamford, Lincolnshire, England: Key Publishing Ltd. December 2019. p. 17.
  41. ↑ "3rd CAB Transfers Operation Atlantic Resolve Mission to 101st CAB". DVIDS. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  42. ↑ "Farewell to Germany". DVIDS. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  43. ↑ Jon Sharman (7 January 2017). "Biggest shipment of American tanks since the Cold War lands in Germany". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-24. Howitzers and fighting vehicles will be joined by thousands of infantry troopers...unloaded in the German port of Bremerhaven...
  44. ↑ Gnauck, Gerhard (13 January 2017). "US forces in Poland: Here to stay". DW. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  45. ↑ Vandiver, John (13 September 2017). "US New tank brigade arrives in Europe for mission in the east". Stars and Striples. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  46. ↑ Morris, Will (22 May 2018). "Fort Hood armored brigade arrives in Europe, ready to roll into Poland". Stars and Striples. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  47. ↑ Spc. Joseph Knoch (October 23, 2019) 2/1 CD Convoy Marks the Fifth Iteration 2nd ABCT/1st Cavalry Division from Vlissingen, Netherlands, across Germany to Poland.
  48. ↑ "JAV kariai šį rudenį vėl treniruosis Lietuvoje" [This Autumn, US Soldiers will train again in Lithuania] (in Lithuanian). 2 September 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  49. ↑ "Dragouni odjeli. Američané zamávali v Rozvadově a vyrazili domů". Mladá fronta DNES (in Czech). iDNES. 1 April 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  50. ↑ Pearse, Damien. "Poland welcomes 3,500 US troops amid fears over Russia aggression". Sky News. Sky News.
  51. ↑ MacAskill, Ewen (12 January 2017). "Russia says US troops arriving in Poland pose threat to its security". The Guardian. The Guardian.
  52. ↑ "US tanks and troops in Poland a threat, Russia says". BBC. BBC. 12 January 2017.
  53. ↑ Gera, Vanessa (14 January 2017). "'We waited for decades': Polish govt welcomes US troops". AP. AP. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  54. ↑ ROGERS, JON (January 9, 2017). "'Tanks do not create peace' Germany fumes at huge build-up of tanks at Russian borders". Daily Express. Daily Express.
  55. ↑ Scally, Derek (January 6, 2017). "Nato deployment begins against possible Russian aggression". The Irish Times.
  56. ↑ Nimmo, Ben. "Three thousand fake tanks". Medium. Medium.
  57. ↑ "Troop movements: Curious timing for U.S. and NATO border buildup". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 10, 2017.