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Polish Lt. Gen. Miroslaw Rozanski and U.S. Army Europe?s Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges observe a live-fire drill at a military training ground in  Szczecin. The commanders met to discuss details about the coming Anakonda exercise, slated to take place in June and to involve about 25,000 troops.

Polish Lt. Gen. Miroslaw Rozanski and U.S. Army Europe?s Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges observe a live-fire drill at a military training ground in Szczecin. The commanders met to discuss details about the coming Anakonda exercise, slated to take place in June and to involve about 25,000 troops. (John Vandiver/Stars and Stripes)

Polish Lt. Gen. Miroslaw Rozanski and U.S. Army Europe?s Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges observe a live-fire drill at a military training ground in  Szczecin. The commanders met to discuss details about the coming Anakonda exercise, slated to take place in June and to involve about 25,000 troops.

Polish Lt. Gen. Miroslaw Rozanski and U.S. Army Europe?s Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges observe a live-fire drill at a military training ground in Szczecin. The commanders met to discuss details about the coming Anakonda exercise, slated to take place in June and to involve about 25,000 troops. (John Vandiver/Stars and Stripes)

Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges watches as Polish forces conduct live fire at the country?s sprawling range in Szczecin, Poland, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015. U.S. Army Europe will take part in a large exercise in Poland next year, dubbed Anakonda 16.

Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges watches as Polish forces conduct live fire at the country?s sprawling range in Szczecin, Poland, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015. U.S. Army Europe will take part in a large exercise in Poland next year, dubbed Anakonda 16. (John Vandiver/Stars and Stripes)

SZCZECIN, Poland — U.S. Army Europe and Polish forces are planning a large-scale war game next summer ahead of a NATO summit in Warsaw. It is expected to be among the largest military exercises in recent years, Army leaders said.

Dubbed Anakonda 16, the exercise will take place at locations across Poland and will include a command element based in the U.S. While planning is still in the early stages, the effort is expected to involve about 25,000 troops and include several allied countries.

“This is all about deterrence,” U.S. Army Europe’s Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges said during a recent stop in Poland. “Deterrence is based on capability and demonstrating the ability to use it.”

Standing beside the general commander of the Polish armed forces, Lt. Gen. Miroslaw Rozanski, Hodges added: “If that means deterring a war, that’s worth it.”

During a quick visit to a Polish military base in Szczecin, U.S. Army leaders were briefed on the latest developments in the Anokonda exercise, another in a recent series of large scale maneuvers involving USAREUR.

While some critics question whether the U.S. and NATO’s more robust training mission in eastern Europe is raising tensions with Russia, Hodges said the allies’ efforts are a fraction of the size of Russian “snap” exercises that are conducted without any public notice.

Plans for the exercise in Poland come as Polish leaders are more insistently demanding increased NATO support, including NATO forces stationed permanently in the country, as advocated by newly elected Polish President Andrzej Duda. That’s controversial within NATO. Germany and some other countries view any such move as a violation of NATO agreements with Russia.

When asked whether he would favor seeing a permanent U.S. presence in Poland, Hodges stopped short of offering a personal view.

“Maintaining the unity of the alliance is paramount over anything,” he said.

U.S. plans to soon pre-position tanks and other heavy weapons in Poland should be taken as a sign of U.S. commitment, Hodges said. Major exercises and a steady rotational presence of U.S. forces, also send a signal of solidarity.

“We don’t have to have five divisions in Europe to achieve that deterrent effect,” he said.

vandiver.john@stripes.com

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John covers U.S. military activities across Europe and Africa. Based in Stuttgart, Germany, he previously worked for newspapers in New Jersey, North Carolina and Maryland. He is a graduate of the University of Delaware.

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