European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 28, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                It a i n a a it a it of film s a 7 National geographic Shi Paad visited san Diego v Al a amp a it is with p United Ough my lows. In at Tirl n has to i110. With 1 Liet. A Bache i id talked Ary Offil general 1 Iff and its Aseyev i be been quarters 1 be last is not has a to mean. A it email a cd vice was on i a on of Ine s f c l a �?T1 1 a Iso 1 file Gen. John r. Galvin talks with a turkish Soldier during a nato exercise in Turkey. Second it. Scott Slaten left and Bernd Kraus a German sergeant first class participate in a joint  strategy for new times a amps Vinco Crowley anew multinational Quot rapid reaction Quot Force will be the key to a revamped nato strategy aimed at Quick intervention in crisis spots that could arise anywhere from the Arctic to the Mediterranean senior Alliance officials say. A. The Force which would Combine air land and sea units is part of the massive adjustment by the Western Alliance to the end of the cold War and pressure to. Reduce defense budgets and troop strengths. /. The outline of the new strategy is expected to be approved by nato defense ministers meeting in Brussels today. It Calls for a three layered mixture of Active duty and Reserve forces that could be used by nato commanders for rapid reaction Mam defense and. Augmentation or reinforcement. A under the new system the main defense forces would account for about two thirds of the total nato strength in Europe while the rapid reaction Force would total about 7 percent. The balance would be composed of ready reserves. Nato currently has 2.2 million troops in Europe but economic pressures on the 16 members and the diminished threat from the former Eastern bloc could Cut that number by 30 percent to 50 percent Over the next five years. The initial rapid reaction Force would include a lightly armed multinational task Force of about 5,000 people. It could be sent at Short notice to any threatened part of Allied come Europe to demonstrate the Solidarity of the Alliance to defend itself against aggression. A the Force would be modelled after the Ace Mobile Force which now includes. Land or air forces from Belgium Canada Germany Italy Luxembourg the Netherlands the United kingdom and the United states. The new brigade size task Force is expected to also include Turkey Greece Norway Denmark and possibly Spain officials said. Should the immediate reaction Force fail a corps size rapid reaction unit of Between 50,000 and 70,000 troops would be available to bolster Alliance defences although the final details have not been a a set nato ministers will be studying a military proposal that recommends a rapid reaction corps composed of four divisions including a multinational division with forces from Germany Belgium Britain and the Netherlands and another multinational division made up of forces from the Southern Region. The two other divisions would be exclusively from one nation each. \ Britain has indicated willingness to take command of the rapid reaction Force and possibly provide two divisions according to nato sources. Nato is studying the. Possibility of locating the corps Headquarters in Germany. A the United states and Canada will Likely contribute air support but have not decided to what extent they will become involved in the rapid reaction land forces nato officials said at a briefing Friday this rapid reaction corps could Wear two hats and be used by european nations outside of nato territory such As for iraqis invasion of Kuwait the next layer of defense would be nato s Quot main defense  although a. Kept at lower Levels of readiness these forces could be boosted by reinforcements from North America and Europe according to officials although details Are still to be worked out the main defense forces Are Likely tech be multinational. For example a u  corps with a German division or a German led corps with a . Division a dutch led corps with a German division or a belgian led corps with German and . Divisions. Final approval of the new Security Structure is scheduled to take place at a nato Heads of state Summit tentatively set for october or november nato officials said Friday Gen. John r. Galvin nato s top military commander in Europe said some elements of the changes Are already under Way and the entire plan could be implemented within the next few years. Quot this is just like other things in the Field of strategy and Force Structure Quot Galvin said. Quot even when you begin to study future change you re showing that you recognize the need for change so some people take action already in the direction that things Are  a. A. Already the five year defense plans of some countries reflect nato s new strategy outlined in the Alliance s London declaration last year. That strategy emphasizes smaller More Mobile forces but is based on the principle of Quot regeneration so they could come up in size rapidly when necessary he said. Quot so we re already making shifts we re cutting Back on the nuclear stockpile but keeping a nuclear capability As a last resort Galvin said Quot we re cutting Back on Active military forces but we re a carefully reorganizing our Reserve Structure and we re looking at ways to increase our mobility Quot. A David Tarrant Day maw. I go a the stars and stripes Page 15