U.S. Army Europe Facing Helo Deficit

By Kris Osborn

U.S. Army Europe has experienced a massive decrease in aviation assets in recent months, leading battalion commanders to express concern that the fleet size is not adequate to addressing the fast-changing security environment in the region.

An overall reduction in the Army force presence in Europe has contributed to the reduction as well as a service restructuring plan which removed rotary wing assets from the active force, moving them to the National Guard, Col. Chris Waters, Commander, 12th Aviation Brigade, told reporters.

“As a result of the Army’s restructuring we have less capability than we had before – in my assessment this has created an aviation deficit in EUCOM (European Command) for rotary wing. We’re going about trying to figure out how to resolve that deficit. We are having a challenging time building readiness. One of the purposes of regionally aligned forces is to build and sustain readiness,” Waters explained.

In total, Waters’ unit has been reduced from seven battalions down to two.  Regarding some of the specifics; the unit’s fleet of 48 Apache attack helicopters has been reduced to 24, Black Hawks have been decreased from 60 down to 30 assault helicopters, 12 Chinooks have been reduced to 8 and MEDEVAC (Medical Evacuation) helicopters have been reduced from 30 down to 6.

Waters added that the fast-changing current security environment in Europe is a circumstance which requires a larger Army aviation presence.

Citing tensions with Russia due to ongoing fighting in Ukraine, an increasing flow of refugees into Europe resulting from turmoil in Syria, and recent terrorist attacks in Paris as complicating factors, Waters said efforts were underway to help U.S. Army Europe replace some of its reduced fleet.

“The Russians are a high-end near peer adversary. They are employing hybrid capability —- and then you throw on top of that the potential social and economic turmoil and extremist potential security threat from asymmetric groups such as ISIS and other organizations like that. In our view, Europe is as central an environment to U.S. and international security as there is,” Waters said.