mo4ch:>US halts deployment & recalls troops from NATO’s biggest drill ‘Defender Europe 2020’ due to coronavirus threat | Mo4ch News

The Pentagon has announced it will drastically reduce the “size and scope” of its participation in the NATO ‘Defender Europe 2020’ exercise, stopping just short of calling quits on the much-touted drill set to run until May.Some 20,000 American soldiers, who were expected to form the backbone of the massive 37,000-strong drill involving forces from 18 NATO member states, will now either stay home or – for those already moved into Europe – return to the US.“As of March 13, all movement of personnel and equipment from the United States to Europe has ceased,” US Army Europe confirmed in a press release on Monday. “As we make the appropriate adjustments, the linked exercises to Exercise Defender-Europe 20 – Dynamic Front, Joint Warfighting Assessment, Saber Strike and Swift Response – will not be conducted.”Forces already deployed to Europe for other linked exercises will return to the United States.The US European Command carefully avoided spelling out the number of troops that would tak…