Therefore, I am in a unique position to address the impact that maintaining high readiness is having on the Marine Corps as a whole. Until recently, the main threat to this theater was a large Soviet force ready to match NATO, tank for tank and plane for plane. The threat has changed. To respond to these asymmetric threats our nation needs a force ready to respond rapidly to crises anywhere in the theater. U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe offers just that force.
Marines make up a small part of U.S. forces in Europe.
In fact, if you looked for a Marine Corps base or installation here, you would find that we have none. Instead, we are tenants of our Army, Navy and Air Force counterparts. VMAQ-1 is deployed to Incirlik, Turkey, flying missions over Iraq, in support of Operation Northern Watch. Marines, many from our Reserve forces, are currently on duty in Bosnia, providing refugee return teams and other support to Operation Joint Forge. Marines participate in 10 of the 16 sites where Military Liaison Teams provide the example of military forces working within democratic systems of government.