Title: 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.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution reaffirms the commitment of the United States to the NATO alliance and states that the alliance allows the United States to better protect its shared economic and security interests throughout the world. The resolution also (1) commends the U.S. forces and allies that participated in the Defender-Europe 2021 exercise; and (2) urges allies in the strongest possible terms to recommit to NATO's founding principles by strengthening democratic institutions, respecting individual liberty, and reinforcing the rule of law.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 478 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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.
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