NATO plans to fast-track military readiness
High readiness is an essential task for NATO in a modern, more unpredictable world, stated NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at a press conference in Brussels on Wednesday, June 6 while commenting on a NATO Defense Ministers meeting scheduled for June 7 to 8.
Speaking about boosting combat readiness, Stoltenberg expressed the hope that the participants could agree on a new concept called "the Four Thirties." It stipulates that by 2020, 30 mechanized battalions, 30 air squadrons, and 30 NATO combat vessels, would be ready to deploy within 30 days or less. "This is not about setting up or deploying new forces. It is about boosting the readiness of existing forces," Stoltenberg noted.
According to the Head of the Alliance, an important role may be played by the new NATO command center to be commissioned in 2019 in Ulm, Germany. Its task will be to ensure the transfer of the Alliance's forces across the continent in the event of a crisis or to conduct maneuvers.
The allocation of defense costs will also be reviewed at the meeting on June 7-8. As Stoltenberg noted, all Allies have now stopped cuts in defense spending and have started to increase spending instead. The first figures for 2018 will be announced at the Alliance's Defense Ministers meeting.