July 13 (UPI) — President Joe Biden has authorized the military to order up reservists for active duty to shore up its presence in Europe amid the war in Ukraine.
Biden specifically said in an executive order that the move was being made to increase “the effective conduct of Operation Atlantic Resolve in and around the United States European Command’s area of responsibility.”
Operation Atlantic Resolve is the name for the bolstering of U.S. troops in Europe to help defend its NATO allies after Russia illegally annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
Biden ordered that the number of soldiers called up cannot exceed 3,000 total members at one time with only 450 being called up from the individual ready reserve mobilization category.
The individual ready reserve category refers to trained soldiers who may have recently left active duty but still have a contractual commitment to their branch of the U.S. Armed Forces or who have moved from active duty to a reserve component but have not been assigned to a unit.
The Defense Department said last June it has deployed 20,000 additional forces in Europe since the beginning of the war in Ukraine last February, bringing the number of American troops in Europe to more than 100,000 service members.
Army Lt. Gen. Douglas A. Sims II, Joint Staff director of operations, said during a news briefing Thursday that the designation “benefits troops and families with increases in authorities, entitlements and access to the reserve component forces and personnel.”
