IV 
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, de-
ployed, and trained as part of the DEFENDER-EUROPE 2021 Exer-
cise. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 15, 2021 
Mr. VELA (for himself, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, 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 mili-
tary, our NATO Allies, and our African allies who suc-
cessfully 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 
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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 move-
ments across the Atlantic Ocean, validating their ability 
to move thousands of troops and equipment through con-
tested 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 demo-
cratic institutions; 
Whereas NATO Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Eu-
rope (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 relation-
ships, 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 cri-
sis by adjusting troops movements and activities to pro-
tect the force and its readiness from a highly infectious 
pandemic; 
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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 reinforce-
ment of Europe and demonstrated NATO’s ability to re-
spond rapidly to the full spectrum of threats; and 
Whereas, within DEFENDER-EUROPE 2021, in the associ-
ated exercise AFRICAN LION, United States Africa 
Command executed their premier annual training event 
in which nearly 5,000 military personnel from approxi-
mately 24 nations trained on medical readiness, per-
formed 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 Rep-
resentatives to— 
(1) reaffirm the ironclad commitment of the 
United States to the NATO Alliance that, through 
collective engagement, expands United States eco-
nomic, diplomatic, and military capabilities in re-
sponding to adversarial and rogue nations, and be-
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cause 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 plan-
ning, execution, and response to emerging threats 
that demonstrated the United States military might 
and ability to quickly adapt to the evolving oper-
ational 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 contin-
ued response to COVID–19, and their resilience en-
abled 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 
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enhanced, among Allied forces, communications, 
interoperability, readiness, and sustainment, as in-
vesting in such exercises is necessary for developing 
new tactics, technologies, and partnerships that will 
ensure NATO’s strategic advantage over time. 
Æ 
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