Commending the United States military servicemembers and NATO allies who successfully planned, coordinated, deployed, and trained as part of the DEFENDER-EUROPE 2020 Exercise.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. RES. 1098 Commending the United States military servicemembers and NATO allies who successfully planned, coordinated, deployed, and trained as part of the DEFENDER-EUROPE 2020 Exercise. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 1, 2020 Mr. VELA (for himself, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. COOK, Mr. COSTA, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. GUTHRIE, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, Mr. TURNER, and Mr. WILSON of South Carolina) submitted the fol- lowing resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Af- fairs, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consider- ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned RESOLUTION Commending the United States military servicemembers and NATO allies who successfully planned, coordinated, de- ployed, and trained as part of the DEFENDER-EU- ROPE 2020 Exercise. Whereas United States military planners prepared a concept of operations to deploy 20,000 United States troops and 12,000 pieces of equipment by air, land, and sea, which would have been the largest military deployment from the United States to Europe in over 25 years; VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Sep 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1098.IH HR1098 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 1098 IH Whereas, as part of DEFENDER-EUROPE 2020, 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; Whereas, additionally, the Army leveraged the use of its Prepositioned Stocks located in Europe that were de- ployed to exercise sites throughout Europe for sustainment; 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 37,000 troops across 18 NATO countries that would par- ticipate in 6 complex exercises to demonstrate NATO’s ability to deter aggression while protecting peace throughout Europe, enhance relationships, readiness, and interoperability among NATO allies, and achieve the ob- jectives of the United States National Defense Strategy and strategic objectives of NATO; Whereas United States commanders and partner countries quickly adapted exercise plans to the COVID–19 crisis in Europe by adjusting troop movements and activities to protect the force and its readiness from a highly infec- tious pandemic; Whereas, by leveraging existing NATO institutions and agreements, NATO forces completed, on short notice, more than 350 flights to transport over 1,000 tons of VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Sep 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1098.IH HR1098 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 1098 IH medical supplies, established in excess of 100 field hos- pitals containing more than 25,000 medical beds, and supported civilian medical and security efforts to respond to a global health emergency; Whereas, despite the COVID–19 pandemic, military leaders were able to safely proceed with DEFENDER-EUROPE 2020 training objectives during two coordinated phases; Whereas, starting with Allied Spirit, the first phase, United States and Polish forces completed a Division-size wet gap crossing of 6,000 troops and 100 vehicles over sev- eral hundred feet of river, and the exercise was also able to test casualty evacuation capabilities over arduous ter- rain, validating United States and Polish forces inter- operability in deploying rapidly together; and Whereas, during the second phase of DEFENDER-EU- ROPE 2020, in the Emergency Deployment Readiness Exercise, the United States Army validated its ability to surge and rapidly redeploy combat vehicles and over 500 troops to Poland under the Department of Defense’s Dy- namic Force Employment concept, and these flexes in operational plans ensured that military forces could adapt logistical and protective requirements vital in sustaining the force during an emergent threat: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) reaffirms the United States commitment to 2 the NATO alliance that through collective engage- 3 ment expands America’s economic, diplomatic, and 4 military capabilities in responding to adversarial and 5 rogue nations, because through these instruments of 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Sep 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR1098.IH HR1098 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 1098 IH power the United States is better able to protect its 1 shared economic security interests in Europe and 2 throughout the world; 3 (2) commends United States military 4 servicemembers for their complex operational plan- 5 ning, execution, and response to emerging threats 6 that demonstrated America’s military might and 7 ability to quickly adapt to the evolving operational 8 environment in order to achieve its strategic objec- 9 tives; 10 (3) commends the courage and perseverance 11 that United States forces demonstrated while de- 12 ployed to Europe, as their selfless efforts saved lives 13 in allied nations by directly contributing to NATO’s 14 response to COVID–19, and additionally, their resil- 15 ience enabled DEFENDER-EUROPE 2020 to con- 16 tinue and validate multiple operational capabilities 17 that had long gone untested; and 18 (4) commends the NATO allies who partici- 19 pated in DEFENDER-EUROPE 2020, which en- 20 hanced communications, interoperability, readiness, 21 and sustainment among allied forces, as investing in 22 such exercises is necessary for developing new tac- 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Sep 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR1098.IH HR1098 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HRES 1098 IH tics, technologies, and partnerships that will ensure 1 NATO’s strategic advantage over time. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 Sep 02, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR1098.IH HR1098 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS