Washington, D.C. – Today, House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) made the following statement about the recent deployment of an armored brigade combat team to Eastern Europe:

“I am very pleased to see the first portion of a rotational American armored brigade combat team deploy to Eastern Europe, as a part of the European Reassurance Initiative. We are shifting our posture from reassurance to deterrence. This is a critical time for Europe. Our allies need to know that we are committed to their security, and to the solidarity of Western democracies in the face of Russian efforts to divide and undermine us. Having U.S. troops on the ground, in force, exercising with and building the capacity of our NATO allies is concrete evidence of our commitment to deterring Russian aggression. We must continue to ensure that commitment does not waver.”

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