US Army's Civilian Chief Visits Estonia
Secretary of the Army John McHugh visited Estonia on May 20-21.
Besides the mildly unusual distinction that Estonia has been visited in a relatively short space of time by two prominent Americans sharing the same initials (Senator John McCain visited in April), nothing new immediately came out of the meeting.
At a press conference with Estonian Minister of Defense Sven Mikser, the following points were made:
- US stands solidly behind NATO Article Five and there is no reason to doubt this.
- The US is weighing possibilities for building a permanent US presence in country.
- The Estonian soldiers on NATO's foreign missions are world-class.
- Discussions with Estonian officials were productive.
McHugh is the top civilian ultimately in charge of the 173rd Brigade, which has 150 airborne troops in Estonia on a rotating basis.
McHugh started his tour of the Baltics in Latvia and Lithuania.