NATO Forces Brace for Battle as Russian Bear Awakens

HOHENFELS, Germany The minareted fake village used for counter-insurgency combat training stood on the sidelines as American tanks rolled through these muddy woodlands during war games this week.

About 4,000 NATO troops from 15 countries have been staging exercises in the U.S. Army's largest overseas training area in the hills of southern Germany. And with the Ukraine crisis at its doorstep, NATO has been prompted to redefine itself.

The alliance's Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has called Russias behavior in Ukraine "a completely new security situation in Europe" and urged higher defense spending.

Military leaders admit that developments such as Moscow's aggression towards its neighbor have prompted them to rethink their approach.

In his field tent at Hohenfels, U.S. Army Capt. Jon Cochran was drawing up potential new strategies during the exercise, dubbed Combined Resolve II.

After two tours in Afghanistan, the company commander of the Fort Hood-based 1st Brigade Combat Team said his soldiers were well-versed in fighting insurgents. However, they were now preparing for new challenges.

Fighting a near peer, we have to adjust our tactics, instead of fighting groups of insurgents, were fighting entire enemy companies and battalions, said Cochran, who was drawing up tactical plans for tanks and troops in a tent used as a command center. This is a definite shift, not only for me, but for a lot of my soldiers.

His broad-based company included soldiers from Albania and engineers from France.

The massing of Moscow's troops near Ukraine's border has raised fears that the Russian bear has awoken from its slumber and NATO has been quick to show military support for members and allies.

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NATO Forces Brace for Battle as Russian Bear Awakens