Ukrainians Peek In on Spangdahlem

Ukrainian military inspectors reviewed Air Force combat assets at Spangdahlem AB, Germany, in a short-notice visit permitted under the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty, announced base officials. Spang’s 52nd Fighter Wing accommodated the Ukrainians “in the spirit of transparency and openness as well as under the obligations of the treaty,” said Lt. Col. Jeffrey Donhauser, who escorted the party during the Dec. 5 visit. “I am very pleased to see that the wing was ready under such a short notice,” he said. The 1990 treaty aimed to prevent the destabilizing buildup of conventional military forces between NATO members in Europe and the former Soviet Bloc by limiting the number of deployed assets and allowing mutual verification. The United States, NATO, and former Soviet countries, including Ukraine, concluded an adapted treaty in 1999 that would take effect once all CFE parties ratified it, which hasn’t occurred yet. It would replace the treaty’s original alliance-wide limits with individual country force limits. Russia unilaterally suspended its compliance with the CFE Treaty in 2007. (Includes Spangdahlem report by A1C Kyle Gese)