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Why Is US Storing New Tanks in Hidden Norwegian Caves?
The Local ^ | 19 Feb 2016

Posted on 02/21/2016 10:02:29 PM PST by nickcarraway

once dormant Cold War era caves are being restocked by the US Marines.

Russian spying can 'damage' Norway: PST (10 Feb 16) US Marines are using Cold War era Norwegian caves to store new tanks, artillery and other military equipment to ramp up their presence near the Nato-Russia border, CNN reported on Thursday

"Any gear that is forward-deployed both reduces cost and speeds up our ability to support operations in crisis, so we're able to fall in on gear that is ready-to-go and respond to whatever that crisis may be," Col. William Bentley, said in a Marine video posted to Facebook:

According to a Marines statement, the military began using the caves to store military equipment in 1981. When Cold War tensions subsided, the US military transferred the costs of maintaining the caves to Norway, Magnus Nordenman, the director of the Transatlantic Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council, told CNN.

But with Russia flexing its muscles in the region, the cave complex is now back in active use. Nordenman told CNN that the caves hold enough equipment to support some 15,000 Marines.

Heather Conley, the director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies' Europe Program, told CNN that given the tense current relationship between Nato and Russia, northern Europe is now being viewed as a “theatre of operations”.

"Now that we have a very new security context with Russia, it now makes sense to rethink what is needed," she said.

Russian aggression in the Nordics has been an ongoing concern for Norway and its neighbours in recent years.

In 2015, it was revealed that Russia rehearsed military takeovers of northern Norway, the Swedish island of Gotland and the Danish island of Bornholm.

Norwegian, Swedish and Danish intelligence services have all reported that Russia is one of the biggest threats in the region.

Just last week, the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) singled Russian spying out as having major “damage potential” for Norwegian interests.

The Marines statement said that more than 16,000 troops will use equipment stored in the Norwegian caves later this month for cold weather training exercises.

The Marines have released video showing the Norwegian army assisting the Americans in learning how to best operate tanks and Amphibious Assault Vehicles in icy conditions.


TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: norway
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To: faithhopecharity

Not Assad. Russia is doing this for Iran.


21 posted on 02/21/2016 11:38:01 PM PST by nickcarraway
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To: faithhopecharity

Russia is not helping Christians in Syria. (A few may be helped collaterally) He is only helping Assad.


22 posted on 02/21/2016 11:39:53 PM PST by nickcarraway
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To: Eagles6

Someday when history’s written we maybe may find possibly out what the Hells wrong with congress that they won’t do their job anymore


23 posted on 02/21/2016 11:59:05 PM PST by faithhopecharity ("Politicians are not born, they're excreted." Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 -- 43 BCE))
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To: faithhopecharity

I hope.


24 posted on 02/21/2016 11:59:55 PM PST by Eagles6 ( Valley Forge Redux. If not now, when? If not here, where? If not us then who?)
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To: Eagles6

Myers. Meanwhile maybe a petition to defund congress, since they won’t do their job anymore anyway? ( smile smile smile)


25 posted on 02/22/2016 12:01:51 AM PST by faithhopecharity ("Politicians are not born, they're excreted." Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 -- 43 BCE))
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To: nickcarraway

.. to protect Obama’s birth certificate.


26 posted on 02/22/2016 12:18:33 AM PST by Organic Panic
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To: faithhopecharity

Bingo! Beelzebama may start WW3..


27 posted on 02/22/2016 12:29:02 AM PST by sheik yerbouty ( Make America and the world a jihad free zone!)
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To: DoughtyOne

It would take a Nuclear blast to do that. Then we would be in a different type of war.


28 posted on 02/22/2016 1:06:27 AM PST by MCF (If my home can't be my Castle, then it will be my Alamo.)
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To: DoughtyOne
"One major blast above and you'll be digging your hardware out for months."

So the other option is parking them out in the open waiting for Day One, Wave One. Fencer bait.


29 posted on 02/22/2016 1:20:20 AM PST by PLMerite (The Revolution...will not be kind.)
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To: nickcarraway

Might be a good idea to work on a decent camouflage scheme. The desert paint-job kind of makes.the tank stand out.


30 posted on 02/22/2016 2:27:49 AM PST by Tallguy
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To: nickcarraway; Fred Nerks

But with Russia flexing its muscles in the region, the cave complex is now back in active use. Nordenman told CNN that the caves hold enough equipment to support some 15,000 Marines.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

That’s not nearly enough marines. The Russians have 2 brigades of Arctic Troops stationed in Russia’s far North, who are battle ready....NOW

http://barentsobserver.com/en/topics/russian-arctic-brigades-put-2015


31 posted on 02/22/2016 3:23:31 AM PST by Candor7 ( Obama fascism article:(http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/05/barack_obama_the_quintessentia_1.html)
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To: Candor7
Isn't it great the way our military is now the biggest blabber mouths (excluding Trump) on the planet.

Has any of the military heard about OPSEC.

32 posted on 02/22/2016 3:37:04 AM PST by eartick (Been to the line in the sand and liked it)
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To: nickcarraway; MarvinStinson; All
Nordenman told CNN that the caves hold enough equipment to support some 15,000 Marines.

There could be a dual purpose for storing weapons in these caves in Norway. Considering all the unaccounted for Islamic Muslims in Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland, armed troops could quickly be called upon if needed to defend against for example, half a million on the loose migrants attacking one of the four capital cities.

33 posted on 02/22/2016 3:46:27 AM PST by Mr Apple ( NO TO ALL SECRETIVE CONNIVING ISLAMIC MUSLIM RAPEFUGEES)
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To: nickcarraway

We should be storing them in the middle east.

Seize some territory w/oil so we can set up a self-funding military region as a base of operations, since we keep going back there to deal w/them anyway.

We can still call it a “cave”:

Camp America Vigilance Enterprise


34 posted on 02/22/2016 4:37:20 AM PST by fruser1
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To: null and void

The assumption is that we would deploy before the shooting starts, during a long period of escalating tensions. That’s not necessarily a sure bet, but unless the Russians started a major war as a total surprise (possible but unlikely) or a U.S. administration was frozen in imbecile mode in the weeks leading up to the onset (all too likely, nowadays), there would probably be warning time.


35 posted on 02/22/2016 4:40:37 AM PST by sphinx
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To: null and void; ozzymandus
A cave is a grave.

When I was OpsO for MWSS-271 prepping for our portion of an annual exercise in Norway I toured some of the caves. Nothing short of a direct nuke strike would affect the entrance, of which there are multitudes, most of which are quite well hidden.

As to the Nords storing stuff there, in just one of the caves I toured, the US, Britain, Germany and France all had at least one division's worth of equipment stored. Many of the odometers had less than 50 miles on them. I saw quad-cons stacked 5 high that were filled with medical, food, ammunition, POLs and other SL-3 gear. They were all rotated on a 5/10 year schedule to keep them viable.

The amount of equipment there was staggering.

36 posted on 02/22/2016 4:46:33 AM PST by rjsimmon (The Tree of Liberty Thirsts)
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To: nickcarraway

They are probably the remaining blow up rubber tanks we used to decoy the Germans before d day back in 44.


37 posted on 02/22/2016 4:53:23 AM PST by Palio di Siena
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To: nickcarraway
Russian aggression

A panic induced mental affliction which causes bed-wetting amongst liberals...

38 posted on 02/22/2016 4:56:23 AM PST by mac_truck (aide toi et dieu t'aidera)
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To: faithhopecharity

The ones the Army shipped from Europe to Kuwait during Desert Shield where filled with beer cases and kegs stem to stern. LOL.


39 posted on 02/22/2016 4:56:50 AM PST by central_va
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To: Tallguy

40 posted on 02/22/2016 4:59:22 AM PST by central_va
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