USAREUR plans to repaint its tanks and other armored vehicles from desert tan to woodland green, in a move that comes amid eastern NATO members' concerns about Russia’s alleged role in the ongoing civil war in Ukraine, US media reports said.
The West has repeatedly accused Moscow of backing supporters of the Donbass region's independence in eastern Ukraine, allegations Russia vehemently rejects.
As for the current color of USAREUR's military equipment, it was previously selected for operations in the Middle East.
No more wars in the desert? US: Sand colored tanks and armored fighting vehicles to be repainted green. #p2 #Ukraine https://t.co/uJ0ikuNTkI
— Mariano (@art2u2) 3 сентября 2015
USAREUR commander Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges specifically stressed the importance of the latest decision.
"It is about deterrence and reassurance, and paint — all of a sudden that matters," he was quoted by the US newspaper Stars and Stripes as saying.
He made the comments during this week's tour of USAREUR's Coleman Barracks in the German city of Manheim, where nearly 200 Bradley fighting vehicles, tanks and other heavy vehicles are due to be used by troops rotating through Eastern Europe and the Baltic states.
The deployment would reportedly include 250 tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles and self-propelled howitzer artillery guns.
Earlier this year, Hodges went as far as warning that NATO should remain united in the face of what he described as a "real threat," allegedly emanating from Russia.
