[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 478 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 478
Commending the men and women of the United States military, our NATO
Allies, and our African allies who successfully planned, coordinated,
deployed, and trained as part of the DEFENDER-EUROPE 2021 Exercise.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 15, 2021
Mr. Vela (for himself, Mr. Connolly, Ms. Sanchez, Mr. Brendan F. Boyle
of Pennsylvania, Mr. Guthrie, Mr. Larsen of Washington, Mr. Austin
Scott of Georgia, Ms. Titus, Mr. Turner, and Mr. Wilson of South
Carolina) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Armed
Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the
jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Commending the men and women of the United States military, our NATO
Allies, and our African allies who successfully planned, coordinated,
deployed, and trained as part of the DEFENDER-EUROPE 2021 Exercise.
Whereas United States military planners prepared a concept of operations that
deployed 28,000 United States troops and nearly 12,000 pieces of
equipment by air, land, and sea for simultaneous operations across more
than 30 training areas in more than a dozen countries and two
continents, all of which occurred under strict COVID-19 prevention and
mitigation strategies;
Whereas, as part of DEFENDER-EUROPE 2021, United States civilian and military
ships coordinated their movements across the Atlantic Ocean, validating
their ability to move thousands of troops and equipment through
contested waters during opposed transit, convoy operations, and building
on the success of last year, the Army again leveraged the use of its
Prepositioned Stocks located in Europe that were deployed to exercise
sites throughout Europe;
Whereas, through this elaborate coordination, the United States military
validated its ability to rapidly deploy and sustain massive military
capability to deter adversaries from conducting destabilizing
hostilities against democratic institutions;
Whereas NATO Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) planned the
training and logistics for more than 30,000 multinational troops from 27
nations that would participate in linked complex exercises to
demonstrate NATO's ability to deter aggression while protecting peace
throughout Europe, enhancing relationships, readiness, and
interoperability among NATO Allies and achieving United States national
defense strategy and NATO strategic objectives;
Whereas United States Commanders and partner nations again adapted exercise
plans to the global COVID-19 crisis by adjusting troops movements and
activities to protect the force and its readiness from a highly
infectious pandemic;
Whereas, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, military leaders were able to safely
proceed with DEFENDER-EUROPE 2021 training objectives across the linked
exercises;
Whereas SWIFT RESPONSE included airborne operations in Estonia, Bulgaria, and
Romania involving more than 7,000 troops from 11 countries;
Whereas SABER GUARDIAN involved more than 13,000 servicemembers from 19
countries conducting live fire and air and missile defense operations,
including a large-scale medical evacuation;
Whereas STEADFAST DEFENDER included a new series of NATO exercises focused on
the transatlantic reinforcement of Europe and demonstrated NATO's
ability to respond rapidly to the full spectrum of threats; and
Whereas, within DEFENDER-EUROPE 2021, in the associated exercise AFRICAN LION,
United States Africa Command executed their premier annual training
event in which nearly 5,000 military personnel from approximately 24
nations trained on medical readiness, performed large-scale live-fire
exercises and conducted air, maritime, and forward command post training
exercises primarily in Morocco: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives to--
(1) reaffirm the ironclad commitment of the United States
to the NATO Alliance that, through collective engagement,
expands United States economic, diplomatic, and military
capabilities in responding to adversarial and rogue nations,
and because of these instruments of power the United States is
better able to protect its shared economic security interests
in Europe and throughout the world;
(2) urge allies in the strongest possible terms to recommit
to the founding principles of the alliance by strengthening
democratic institutions, respecting individual liberty, and
reinforcing the rule of law;
(3) commend United States military servicemembers for their
complex operational planning, execution, and response to
emerging threats that demonstrated the United States military
might and ability to quickly adapt to the evolving operational
environment in order to achieve its strategic objectives;
(4) commend the courage and perseverance that United States
forces demonstrated while deployed to Europe, as their selfless
efforts saved lives in allied nations by directly contributing
to NATO's continued response to COVID-19, and their resilience
enabled DEFENDER-EUROPE 2021 to continue and validate multiple
operational capabilities require these large scale tests; and
(5) commend our NATO and African allies who participated in
DEFENDER-EUROPE 2021, which enhanced, among Allied forces,
communications, interoperability, readiness, and sustainment,
as investing in such exercises is necessary for developing new
tactics, technologies, and partnerships that will ensure NATO's
strategic advantage over time.
<all>