Ukrainian gunners fire the M109 self-propelled howitzer during training at the Grafenwoehr training area, Germany, May 12, 2022. A new command located at Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden is expected to serve as an administrative center for training and equipping Ukrainian troops as they defend their country From Russia. (Spencer Rhodes/US Army)
STUTTGART, Germany — A new command at Army Headquarters Germany will be established to coordinate how the United States trains and equips Ukrainian troops, giving formal structure to an on-the-fly mission designed in the wake of the large-scale war of Russia against the country.
US General Christopher Cavoli of US European Command presented the plan to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for a Wiesbaden-based command, The New York Times reported on Thursday. A final decision on the details is expected in a few weeks.
The Times, citing unnamed US military and administrative officials, said the plan involved the creation of a headquarters of about 300 people, headed by a high-ranking general who would oversee training efforts.
The honor guard from the 529th Military Police Company greets the Secretary of the Army at U.S. Army Europe and Africa Headquarters, Sept. 20, 2022, on Clay Kaserne in Wiesbaden, Germany . Army leaders plan to establish a new command at the base to coordinate the training and weapons support of Ukrainian troops. (Theodosius Santalov/US Army)
Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli, head of U.S. European Command, addresses the Adriatic Charter Chiefs of Defense Conference Sept. 22, 2022, in Budva, Montenegro. This week, Cavoli presented a plan to establish a new command at army headquarters in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Government of Montenegro)
While headquarters in Wiesbaden would function as an administrative center, much of the training is likely to be conducted elsewhere in locations where the military maintains wide ranges. The US Army Training Center in Europe and Africa at Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels would likely play an important role, as well as the service garrison at Baumholder.
Thousands of American soldiers are also positioned in training areas in Poland and Romania, which could factor into the plans.
Training the Ukrainian army is nothing new for the United States, which had deployed conventional and special operations troops to Ukraine for years as part of an effort to modernize the country’s military. . But all US forces were withdrawn from Ukraine before the Russian invasion in late February.
Since then, United States and other Allied troops have trained Ukrainian personnel in Germany and elsewhere.
A focus has been training Ukrainian soldiers in the use of the wide range of weapons the West has sent to Ukraine, such as the mobile rocket system known as HIMARS.
Some steps have already been taken to make the army post in Wiesbaden a centerpiece of the training and equipping mission.
A weapons logistics cell was moved on August 6 from EUCOM headquarters in Stuttgart to Wiesbaden, the command announced on Friday. This cell, which includes representatives from dozens of countries, organizes the logistics to get everything from Stinger missiles and howitzers to drones and long-range artillery to secret locations in Ukraine.
“Collocation with U.S. Army Europe and Africa Headquarters, as well as XVIII Airborne Corps, increases the organization’s ability to rapidly support operations in Ukraine,” EUCOM said in a statement.
