US sends artillery equipment in the Black Sea region

After entering the German port city of Bremerhaven on Sunday, the new Combined Arms Company was beginning its move to Bulgaria’s Novo Selo Training Area, where it will incorporate armor and heavy weapons into exercises the Marines already conduct with local forces around the region.

The heavy weaponry will arrive in Bulgaria by train, after travelling around Europe, to show the “Allies’ capacity to transport heavy equipment to the region”.

According to the Military Times, four Abrams main battle tanks, three howitzer artillery cannons, and six light armored reconnaissance vehicles were sent to the Combined Arms Company over the weekend. More than 160 Marines will accompany the equipment, it said.

Washington and its allies accuse Moscow of provoking unrest in eastern Ukraine by sending troops and equipment in support of the pro-Russian forces there.

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Bulgaria’s North Atlantic Treaty Organisation membership does not worry Russia and that Russia seeks to develop closer relations with the country despite previous difficulties over the Austria-bound South Stream Pipeline.

“The transportation of a Marine Corps combined arms capability in the Black Sea region has fostered improved communication and coordination with the allied force and its partners”, Lt. Col. John Sattely, director of logistics for U.S Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa, said in the statement.

“The result of this collaboration and coordination is that the various agencies and organizations involved are familiar with each other now rather than learning about one another after a crisis happens”, he said.

Current plans call for three six-month rotations of the Marine company, which will be attached to the battalion-sized Marine unit out of Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base in Romania.

“Look at it as an increased footprint in the area because that’s how serious we take the territorial integrity of our allies and our partners”.

The US Army 2nd Cavalry Regiment arrives during the Dragoon Ride exercise in Liepupe, Latvia, on 22 March 2015.

In September, an exercise called Operation fearless Warrior will demonstrate mobility from Germany across the Danube river into Hungary.