Originally Appeared at German Economic News. Translated by Werner Schrimpf

The U.S. army has apparently shipped 5,000 tons of ammunition to Germany. The delivery is being forwarded to the U.S. army so that it can fulfill its missions. The official justification for the shipment is the increasingly aggressive behavior of Russia.

Weeks ago the U.S. shipped a massive volume of 415 standard containers full of ammunition to Europe. Last week the freighter reached the port of Nordenham near Bremerhaven / Germany. Last Thursday the cargo was reloaded to trains and forwarded to the village of Missau. This U.S. arms depot is located approximately 15 kilometers west of the city of Kaiserslautern.

More than 5,000 tons of ammunition are now stored in the German Federal State of Rhineland-Palatinate and are waiting to be put into operation. This extreme measure represents the largest delivery of ammunition from the U.S. to Europe within the last 10 years. That is not just a logistic surprise but an intentional and obvious message directed at Russia.

It is common practice that weapons and ammunition are moved on a regular basis but normally, this would not be revealed to the public. But in this special case, a photo was released at the U.S. website “Stars & Stripes”, showing the containers being unloaded. Not only that, but there was even official whose full name was also released.

On this website the report tells that this gigantic delivery of ammunition is dedicated to USAREUR. That means the division of the U.S. army which is deployed in Europe. The additional cargo of ammunition will help support the division in the fulfillment of its missions on the continent – especially on eastern borders of NATO-areas. The report says the main reason for this operation would be an intensified aggressive behavior of Russia.

U.S. colonel Matthew Redding who was in charge for supervising the handling of this special freight said: „This critical shipment will help us to continue to enable the NATO alliance, and the fact that it’s the largest single shipment in 10 years demonstrates our continued commitment to the defense of our allies“. Unfortunately Mr. Redding forgot to disclose who will be the potential aggressor against the allied partners.

A justification for this military buildup is the alleged Russian engagement in the Ukraine in 2014. During this period, NATO created a special unit: the so-called “Very High Readiness Joint Task Force”, or abbreviated “VJTF”. It shall serve as a protective force against security challenges created by Russia and additionally against potential threats from Middle East and Northern Africa.

Strangely enough, this special force didn’t get its ammunition until two years after its inauguration. But this delivery is not just a symbol or warning against Russia. A certain portion will be used soon during the next planned NATO maneuver named “Anaconda” in Poland. Twenty-five thousand soldiers from 24 nations are to participate.

Which portion of this ammunition will be left after this exercise is unclear. The intention of the U.S. army is to demonstrate that this stock pile is always ready for any quick and spontaneous mission.

The news channel NBC News made some more clear statements. NBC explained that this delivery is a tough response to a new cold war arising between the U.S. and Russia, and a response to the speech made by Russia’s prime minister during the Munich Security Conference, where he argued that NATO is acting “unfriendly” and “deviously” against Russia. Mr. Medvedev asked the question whether we are living in the year 2016 or 1962.

Keeping all this in mind, it becomes obvious that this ammunition buildup is another warning signal to Russia. But it should be clear that these 5,000 tons are just a small drop on the hot gun barrel. If we have a look at the sheer number of foreign military bases, it’s – depending on the source – between 662 and 900 for the U.S., and just 10 for Russia.