enhanced Forward Presence strengthens NATO's defence

General Curtis M. Scaparrotti,  Supreme Allied Commander Europe,  standing next to Andrzej Duda,  President of the Republic Poland,  salutes during a welcome ceremony for the enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup Poland at Orzysz,  Poland,  Apr. 13,  2017. The ceremony highlighted the importance of the eFP battlegroup in Poland,  made up of U.S.,  U.K. and Romanian troops,  including air defence,  light cavalry and other support units.

ORZYSZ, Poland - General Curtis M. Scaparrotti, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, alongside Andrzej Duda, President of the Republic of Poland, attended the welcome ceremony for the enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup Poland in Orzysz, Poland, on Thursday, Apr.13, 2017.

"Deploying these troops in Poland is a clear demonstration of NATO's unity and resolve, and sends a clear message to any potential aggressor," Scaparrotti said.

President Duda commented on the importance of the multinational military presence in his country. "Here we all stand before a battalion combat group of the North Atlantic Alliance on Polish soil," President Duda said. "It will be no exaggeration when I say that generations of Polish people have waited for this moment since the end of the Second World War, dreaming about Poland's return to membership in the just, solidarity, democratic and truly free West."

The enhanced Forward Presence concept serves to reinforce the Alliance's collective defence, providing a balanced and proportionate addition to NATO's response measures in times of crisis.

"This is a proportionate response to the changing security environment we face in Eastern Europe, as demonstrated by Russia's aggressive actions over recent months and years, enhanced Forward Presence sends a strong message of NATO's strength and unity as well as its commitment to defend Poland and the Baltic States," General Scaparrotti said.

The U.S.-led battlegroup in Poland is comprised of U.S., U.K. and Romanian troops, including air defence, light cavalry and other support units. NATO enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battlegroups are also deployed in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as agreed during the NATO Warsaw Summit.

Story by SHAPE Public Affairs Office