Update (1602 EST):
Update: @US_EUCOM "preparing to use new authorities in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve" per spox Capt Bill Speaks
Potential call up of up to 3,000 reservists "will ensure long-term resilience in USEUCOM’s continued heightened level of presence & operations" pic.twitter.com/HZoGqn1Dlo
— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) July 13, 2023
According to the White House, the President of the United States has called up another 3,000 reservists to support Operation Atlantic Resolve, the rotational U.S. forces deployed in European Command (EUCOM) since 2014 to deter Russian forces in Ukraine. The announcement reads below:
“By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including sections 121 and 12304 of title 10, United States Code, I hereby determine that it is necessary to augment the active Armed Forces of the United States for the effective conduct of Operation Atlantic Resolve in and around the United States European Command’s area of responsibility. In furtherance of this operation, under the stated authority, I hereby authorize the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy, under their respective jurisdictions, to order to active duty any units, and any individual members not assigned to a unit organized to serve as a unit of the Selected Reserve, or any member in the Individual Ready Reserve mobilization category and designated as essential under regulations prescribed by the Secretary concerned, not to exceed 3,000 total members at any one time, of whom not more than 450 may be members of the Individual Ready Reserve, as they deem necessary, and to terminate the service of those units and members ordered to active duty.”
It is not currently clear where these reservists will augment Active Duty forces, but considering the escalating rhetoric from the Russian Federation concerning the delivery of lang range weapons from NATO allies, this call-up is not insignificant.
Operation Atlantic Resolve, though not a “named” operation, refers to military activities in response to Russian operations in Ukraine, mainly the War in Donbass. It was funded under the European Deterrence Initiative. In the wake of Russia’s 2014 intervention in Ukraine, the U.S. and the U.K. took several immediate steps to enhance the deterrence posture along the eastern flank of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), including augmenting the air, ground and naval presence in the region, and enhancing previously scheduled exercises. (wiki)
