DefenceTalkThe US military will ask the Donald Trump administration next week to deploy thousands more troops to Afghanistan, a senior official says. US media have reported that the Pentagon will request between 3,000 and 5,000 conventional military personnel, mainly to advise and assist Afghan military and police units in the fight against the Taliban. The […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-to-request-thousands-more-us-troops-for-afghanistan-69918/

DefenceTalkNorth Korea’s military forces were massed in Pyongyang on Saturday (Apr 14) for a show of strength by leader Kim Jong-Un as tensions mount over his nuclear ambitions. Hundreds of flatbed trucks packed with soldiers lined the banks of the Taedong river ahead of a parade through the North Korean capital. Ostensibly the event was […]https://www.defencetalk.com/troops-mass-in-pyongyang-show-of-strength-69739/

DefenceTalkThe Pentagon is reviewing how it counts US troop numbers in Iraq and Syria, an official said Monday, as it moves from Obama-era troop limits that critics said were misleading. Currently, the Pentagon provides “force management levels” that set limits on how many US troops are supposedly in each country. Former president Barack Obama, who […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-reviewing-how-it-counts-troop-numbers-69640/

DefenceTalkUp to 1,000 additional US troops could deploy to northern Syria under provisional plans drawn up by the Pentagon, a US defense official said on Wednesday. The plans, which still need to be approved by President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, would mark a significant uptick in US boots on the ground in […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-plans-for-syria-include-another-1000-troops-us-official-69500/

DefenceTalkSeveral hundred German soldiers arrived in Lithuania on Tuesday as part of the multinational NATO battalion being deployed in the country, part of the alliance’s effort to beef up its eastern flank. The German troops will head up a force including Belgian, Dutch and French soldiers, among other nations, that will reach full strength of […]https://www.defencetalk.com/german-troops-bulk-up-nato-led-force-in-lithuania-69017/

DefenceTalkUS troops and tanks began streaming into Poland Thursday as part of one of the largest deployments of US forces in Europe since the Cold War, an operation that Russia angrily branded a “threat”. The Atlantic Resolve mission will see more than 3,000 American soldiers and heavy equipment deployed in Poland and nearby NATO partners […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-troops-arriving-in-poland-draw-russian-ire-68801/

DefenceTalkThe Pentagon said Tuesday it was dropping its efforts to recoup recruitment bonuses paid to more than 15,000 California National Guard staff a decade ago to get more troops to Iraq and Afghanistan battlefields. In all, a Pentagon review found that some 17,500 California National Guard soldiers faced potential recoupment of bonuses used as inducements […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-scraps-iraq-afghan-enlistment-bonus-repayments-68747/

DefenceTalkWashington will send another 200 troops to Syria to help an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters seize the Islamic State group bastion of Raqa, Defence Secretary Ashton Carter said on Saturday. They will join 300 US special forces troops already deployed in support of the Syrian Democratic Forces alliance in the drive on the […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-chief-announces-200-more-us-troops-for-syria-68659/

DefenceTalkThe United States is continuing to reinforce its military forces in Europe as planned, irrespective of President-elect Donald Trump’s future intentions, the Pentagon said Thursday. Trump, who will take office in January, raised serious concerns in Europe by promising during his campaign that US engagement in NATO under his presidency would be conditional on members’ […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-reinforcing-troops-in-europe-as-planned-68569/

DefenceTalkThe United States will deploy over 300 troops in Norway, the Norwegian government announced Monday, in a move set to upset neighbouring Russia. The 330 Marines, to be stationed on rotation around 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) from the Russian border, will be engaged in training and manoeuvres in almost Arctic conditions, the Norwegian defence ministry […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-to-deploy-330-troops-in-norway-68475/