Maintaining a nuclear presence in Europe is essential for the NATO alliance, said Mark Gunzinger, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. “Our posture in Europe is critical to coherence of the alliance [and] is a tangible sign of our commitment to the alliance,” he said during Tuesday’s panel on extended deterrence at AFA’s Air & Space Conference in National Harbor, Md. Currently, the United States has a forward presence in Europe of tactical nukes and dual-role fighters capable of delivering them. Gunzinger said it’s “questionable at best” if relying on US strategic nukes based stateside would have the same deterrent effect for Europe. Further, it would be “very difficult” to regenerate that capability if it was withdrawn from Europe, he asserted. He also said the United States “might want to think about adopting the European model” of extended deterrence “to the Pacific.”
Top Lawmakers Want 15 Percent Pay Raise for Enlisted Troops
April 19, 2024
A new law introduced by Congress would raise the pay rate 15 percent for junior enlisted troops and seek improvements on a range of quality of life issues, such as pay and compensation, child care, housing, health care access, and military spouse employment.