US Army raises the stakes in Eastern Europe.

I had hoped that leadership on both sides would walk us back from the brink on this thing but the exact opposite is happening.  Check this out from Stars and Stripes...

“We are doing surveys here in the next few weeks up in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria to see if there is a place where perhaps some of that equipment could be stored there,” USAREUR chief Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges said during an interview with Stars and Stripes. “Maybe it’s a company, maybe it’s a whole battalion, we don’t know yet until we do the survey.”
In 2015, the Army expects to rotate a full-sized, U.S.-based heavy brigade of some 3,000 troops and additional tanks and other armored vehicles through Europe in connection with the service’s Regionally Aligned Force initiative. Last year, the program kicked off on a smaller scale, bringing combat tanks back into Europe after a brief absence following the elimination of two Germany-based heavy brigades in 2013. Now, the regional concept is picking up steam, with plans for 220 armored vehicles in Europe.
“The big question for us right now is ‘where are they going to go?’ Obviously, a part is going to stay here,” Hodges said, referring to the Grafenwöhr training area. “We really want to put some in southeastern Europe, some in the Baltics, some in Poland. Those countries want them bad — an obvious reason, they’re a deterrent aspect.”

A Heavy Combat Brigade is a POWERFUL formation.

The amount of combat power that it brings to the table is impressive in the extreme.  I would love to know the thinking behind this move.  One thing is certain.  It will NOT lessen tensions with Russia.  Many on their side will see this as an escalation and a move in kind should be expected.  I seriously wonder where this idea is coming from.