increased its forward presence in the East by establishing four Battlegroups : one each in Estonia , Latvia , Lithuania and Poland . Representatives agreed at the 2022 Madrid Summit that four additional Battlegroups would be constituted in Bulgaria , Hungary , Romania and Slovakia , and that existing Battlegroups would increase in size by 50-100 percent . Allied nations also committed to maintain combat-ready , brigade-sized forces at readiness to deploy whenever and wherever they are needed . This is a renewed vision of the old forward strategy , redesigned to match today ’ s strategic landscape .
At the Madrid Summit , senior leaders also took a fresh look at the NATO Response Force , a group of up to
40,000 high-readiness troops who are ready for crisis response on short notice . By introducing a new NATO Force Model , NATO leaders agreed to develop an Allied Reaction Force that is even larger , and at higher readiness than the current NRF .
All of the changes decided upon at the Madrid Summit represent a reinvigoration of the original Deter and Defend concept , by placing a deeper NATO presence in a wider geographical area than ever before . By sending the message to our neighbours in the East that we are ready for battle , we give ourselves a much greater chance of keeping hostilities in Ukraine from spilling over into the Central European Theatre .
The world held its breath in November , when errant missiles departed the airspace over Ukraine and detonated in Poland , tragically killing two . This was the kind of incident political and military leaders across Europe had feared ever since the invasion began in February . Was this the miscalculation that would escalate tensions between NATO and Russia beyond the point of no return ? NATO leaders took very deliberate action , carefully analysing the data to determine that the incident did not constitute an intentional attack on NATO territory . While the incident served as a reminder that the European continent is on a razor ’ s edge , the NATO Alliance showed clear resolve while preventing the Ukraine conflict from expanding into greater hostilities .
Thus far , the credibility of NATO ’ s Article V , in terms of collective defence , is not at risk . The very existence of Article V , coupled with a strong NATO presence in the East , has offered sufficient deterrence and a renewed positive attitude toward the fundamentals of the Alliance . But
deterrence only works if our adversary understands that we are ready to fight to defend our values , territory , and way of life . The threat is not over , and we need to stand united to deter and assure ; and ultimately defend and fight , wherever and whenever needed .
@ HQARRC Allied Rapid Reaction Corps the imjin WINTER 2022-23 5