EUCOM Commander Wants 2 More Destroyers Based at Rota to Deter Russia

[rangerrebew]

EUCOM Commander Wants 2 More Destroyers Based at Rota to Deter Russia

25 Feb 2020
Military.com | By Oriana Pawlyk

The head of U.S. European Command said he has put in a request to host two additional U.S. Navy guided missile destroyers (DDGs) in the European theater that would be "critical" to improving the U.S.'s ongoing campaign to deter Russian forces.

Through funds obligated within the European Deterrence Initiative (EDI), the U.S. military has been given the ability "to improve and mature the infrastructure in Rota, [Spain]" to house the additional destroyers, said Air Force Gen. Tod Wolters, who also serves as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe.

The deployment of the ships could begin "tomorrow," he said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday.

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/02/25/eucom-commander-wants-2-more-destroyers-based-rota-deter-russia.html

[rangerrebew]

Push to base six US Navy destroyers in Spain could be gaining steam
By: David B. Larter and Sebastian Sprenger  
 

WASHINGTON and COLOGNE, Germany – The U.S. Navy’s four guided-missile destroyers in Rota, Spain, could soon get company.

Senior U.S. military officials are pushing hard to get two more destroyers forward-deployed in Europe, and the move appears to have the support of top Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

In a recent hearing, SASC chairman Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Oklahoma, and Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi, questioned the top U.S. general in Europe about moving more Navy assets to Spain.

https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2020/03/03/push-to-base-six-us-navy-destroyers-in-spain-could-be-gaining-steam/

[sneakypete]

WHY are they doing this? Would it benefit America,or just Spain?

BTW,don't we still have that big Naval base at Rota? I have a cousin who married a Spanish woman while based there,and then retired there and opened a bar.

[rangerrebew]

The US Navy’s top officer declares support for basing 6 destroyers in Spain
By: David B. Larter  
 

WASHINGTON – The US Navy supports, and is anticipating, sending an additional two destroyers to Rota, Spain, which would bring the total number to six DDGs based in Europe.

The move, which Navy leaders have opposed in the past on the grounds it pulls ships away from carrier strike groups, has been picking up steam as it has drawn congressional interest. U.S. European Command has been calling for more destroyers for years now.

In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday told lawmakers he supported sending the two extra destroyers to respond to EUCOM demands.

https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2020/03/05/the-us-navys-top-officer-declares-support-for-basing-6-destroyers-in-spain/

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