U.S. soldiers assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division participate in a live-fire exercise in 2020 in Smardan, Romania. The U.S. will deploy a tank unit to Romania, defense chief Gen. Gheorghita Vlad said this week on Romanian television. (Dommnique Washington/U.S. Army)
STUTTGART, Germany — A U.S. tank unit will be deployed to Romania to enhance the “quality and lethality” of the American military presence there, a top defense official from that country said this week.
The plan was on the agenda during a recent visit to the country by U.S. European Command’s Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, Defense Chief Gen. Gheorghita Vlad said in an interview with Romanian public television.
“The United States has agreed to maintain the same level of force contribution and, moreover, to improve the quality and lethality of the forces deployed in Romania,” Vlad told the network on Sunday.
The “best example” of the U.S. commitment to Romania was provided by Grynkewich, who told his Romanian counterpart that “a detachment of U.S. soldiers equipped with Abrams tanks will be deployed in Romania,” Vlad said.
U.S. European Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday about the plan.
Col. Mike Weisman, U..S Army Europe and Africa spokesman, in a statement late Thursday said that the service was working out the details.
“We’re still early in the process of discussion and no decisions have been made about changes in force posture, but we’re excited that Romania is acquiring (Abrams tanks),” Weisman said. “As Allies invest and build up their land forces, we seek opportunities for U.S. forces to train with those units receiving similar equipment to help them quickly bring online and master those systems.”
It wasn’t clear when or how many soldiers might be involved in the Romania deployment. Vlad said the plan is not expected to add to the overall number of American soldiers in Romania but rather serve as an improvement on the types of forces in the country.
Any tank unit pegged for setting up a mission in Romania could be drawn from other Army ground forces already on rotational missions in other parts of Europe.
Still, adding U.S. battle tanks in Romania is likely to send a reassuring signal to allies on the eastern flank, who have worried about the durability of the future American force posture in the region.
Vlad’s remarks come on the heels of a U.S. troop reduction in Romania and several other countries.
In October, the Pentagon announced that it was ending the rotation of a U.S Army brigade to Romania that was part of an increased force presence set up in the aftermath of Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The decision involved about 3,000 soldiers, 700 of whom were based in Romania. Other elements from the brigade were dispersed to different countries on NATO’s eastern flank, including Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovakia. The U.S. still has about 1,000 troops in Romania.
Putting a contingent of U.S. tankers in Romania could present an opportunity to better coordinate training opportunities with their Romanian counterparts.
The country is in the process of acquiring 54 U.S. Abrams tanks, following in the footsteps of fellow NATO ally Poland.
As allies take on new American-made equipment, it’s not unusual for U.S. forces to set up missions focused on assisting them in incorporating such gear into their combat formations.
U.S. armored troops also have worked closely with their counterparts in Poland when it comes to using the Abrams tank. And American soldiers have played a similar role in Estonia as the country added the HIMARS artillery system into its arsenal.
