ABSTRACT
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces are also being sharply reduced, and it becomes especially important that the remaining NATO forces, including the United States contribution, be optimized for the new strategic situation that exists in Europe. Optimization of the smaller future NATO forces could proceed along several paths, but whichever direction is selected, three qualities must exist if the resulting force is to be a credible deterrent to European war: versatility, flexibility and mobility. A growing problem for NATO governments is the resolution of conflicting demands from environmentalists and the military. A high priority for increased strategic mobility needs to be firmly established by defense planners and clearly understood by Congress and the various NATO parliaments. The problem to date has been that the Forward Defense strategy of NATO has diluted the number of units that are available for a mobile reserve.
