http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017...warns-us-troops.html

Anyone know what to make of this? My take is that this is just us showing military power and readiness as a warning to Russia to keep them in check. Russia understands and respects one thing and one thing only which is brute strength. My daughter is in the Marines and wanted my take on it so I thought I'd bring it before you guys to get your thoughts. I personally am not overly concerned but I could be missing something.

A Marine Corps commandant on Thursday warned U.S. troops stationed in Norway to be prepared for a coming war.

“I hope I’m wrong, but there’s a war coming,” Gen. Robert Neller told them. “You’re in a fight here, an informational fight, a political fight, by your presence.”

Neller pointed to the near future possibility of Russia and the Pacific theater being the next major areas of conflict.

Sgt. Maj. Ronald Green sounded a similar tone.

"Just remember why you're here," Green said. "They're watching. Just like you watch them, they watch you. We've got 300 Marines up here; we could go from 300 to 3,000 overnight. We could raise the bar."

The warnings came a day before Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told troops at Fort Bragg, N.C., that "storm clouds are gathering" over the Korean Peninsula.

Neller and Green's arrival in Norway coincided with heightened tensions between the U.S. and its NATO allies and Russia. According to Military.com, Russia warned Norway that its decision to host a new unit of U.S. troops through the end of 2018 would negatively affect relations.

Norway has insisted having U.S. troops stationed there is merely part of an effort to enhance ties with NATO allies and conduct cold-weather combat operations.

At a Q&A session with the troops in the Norwegian Home Guard base near Trondheim, Neller said that the U.S. could shift its focus from the Middle East to Eastern Europe, citing Russia’s conflicts with Ukraine and Georgia as justification. He told the Marines that they should be prepared for a “big-ass fight” on the horizon.

Russia has reportedly been uneasy about the presence of American troops close to its borders. The 300 U.S. Marines deployed to Norway in June 2016 were the first foreign troops allowed to operate in the country since World War II.

In September of this year, Russia conducted a joint-military exercise with neighboring Belarus that involved 12,700 troops.

A new National Security Strategy unveiled by the Trump administration on Monday singled out Russia and China as two world powers challenging “American power, influence, and interests, attempting to erode American security and prosperity.”

Tony.

Sounds like a pep talk to insure the newly arrived troops take their training seriously. What is he supposed to say, enjoy your vacation? Is Russia, and Putin, a threat to our interest? Sure, but I don't see a war coming to Europe.

If we were to go squash N.Korea plenty of the troops would deploy from Europe

quote:

Originally posted by TXJIM:
Sounds like a pep talk to insure the newly arrived troops take their training seriously. What is he supposed to say, enjoy your vacation? Is Russia, and Putin, a threat to our interest? Sure, but I don't see a war coming to Europe.

This. There will be no war with Russia.

Korea on the other hand.... IMO North Korea won't exist by the end of 2018.

I saw an interview with Bolton and another national security expert yesterday and both laid out a VERY compelling case for not pussyfooting around with NK any longer. Yeah, Bolton is a hawk, but he's right. It needs to end and it needs it end soon. I'm betting that it will.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
IMO North Korea won't exist by the end of 2018.

Based on what? Do did you mean that Lil Kim won't be in power or that N. Korea will be called Korea, Upper China or West Russia?

I'm just not tracking with your statement.

Li'l Kim lights off a few rockets to make it look like he's ready to go to war - in order to not have to go to war until he thinks he's strong enough to use war as a credible threat.

The US Navy patrols off of Korea acting like it's ready to go to war so Li'l Kim knows the US is a credible threat.

The ChiComs and Russians posted on the edge of the Korean peninsula act like they're ready to go to war so that the US does nothing and vainly hopes that the ChiComs and perhaps the Russians will deal with the threat posed by Li'l Kim.

Marines on Norway are told they're on the edge of war so they'll act like they're on the edge of war in order to remind the Russians that they cannot wage war on or near the Korean peninsula without distractions or facing other threats.

Welcome to a world where war, if waged, will be waged all around the northern hemisphere of the globe. Deterrence, like war, is now done on a global rather than regional basis. This is particularly true since one potential player (Russia) stretches and has interests all the way from the north Atlantic to the north Pacific. The Marines, being efficient little buggers, are using the size of Russia's land mass against Russia - with 300 Marines posted in Norway.

quote:

Originally posted by benny6:


“I hope I’m wrong, but there’s a war coming,” Gen. Robert Neller told them. “You’re in a fight here, an informational fight, a political fight, by your presence.”


Tony.

I'm not a military strategist but I just take that as a pep talk, The informational fight, the political fight, that's the war going on now and more will be coming.

If they do their job right, if the generals do their job right, and if the politicians do their job right in so far as having our troops stationed in various places around the world as our way of saying to enemies, "Do something here and our troops here will be involved and when our troops here suffer casualties, you will face the full wrath and fury that America can cause to bear down on your sorry ass." That has served as a great deterent to enemy nations, perhaps not so much to the Islam terrorists.

That really has been the function of our troops in the DMZ of Korea and West Berlin when it was still West Berlin. As far as Norway, I think it's more of a political assurance to Norway and NATO plus whatever actual benefits our troops can provide for them in terms of training, etc.

quote:

Originally posted by Il Cattivo:
<snip>The Marines, being efficient little buggers, are using the size of Russia's land mass against Russia - with 300 Marines posted in Norway.

from mil.com: The first Norway rotation, from 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines, deployed in January and was replaced by a new unit from 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines, in late August.

So it's grunts, not surprisingly. At the roughest of guesses that's two infantry companies reinforced with heavy weapons a command staff and specialists from H&S company.

If I was going I'd like to have more Marines.

Norway is a good place to train with the cold. A little over a year ago we had a tank platoon deployed over there doing some training with them. Eye opener for the young guys on how to operate and maintain a tank in the freezing weather. Not surprisingly the Norwegians are pretty good at it lol. The USMC also started storing tanks in the caves over there a few years ago.

http://theweek.com/articles/44...es-norway-full-tanks

https://www.military.com/daily...norway-exercise.html

Marines have been conducting cold weather training in Norway for years, I know from at least the early 80's.

War is always coming. Peace is the oddity.

The General made a safe prediction.

So does that mean we can not have flat dark earth everything now. Sigh.

quote:

Originally posted by Out West:
War is always coming. Peace is the oddity.

...

This man speaks the truth.

Listen to him...

The next major conflict will be with China and North Korea. Anyone that thinks China will let North Korea falter, and that NK's mega-leaps and bounds with respect to its ICBMs and thermonuclear weapons developments weren't directly aided and enabled by China, is an idiot. Wars and other conflicts in the middle east, and "bad relations with Russia" are side-shows. China is a our strategic enemy at this stage. And Russia will have no choice but to, if not now then eventually, stand with America against Chinese aggression in the far east and Pacific.