Editing Exercise Reforger (section)

==History==
[[File:U.S. Army during REFORGER '82.JPEG|thumb|left|Civilians watching a formation of American [[M60 Patton|M60]] tanks during Reforger 82]]
The Reforger exercise itself was first conceived in 1967. During the ongoing [[Vietnam War]], U.S. President [[Lyndon B. Johnson|Lyndon Johnson]] announced plans to withdraw approximately two divisions from Europe in 1968. As a demonstration of its continuing commitment to the defense of NATO and to illustrate its capability of rapid reinforcement, a large scale force deployment was planned that would deploy a division or more to West Germany in a regular annual exercise. The first such exercise was conducted beginning on 6 January 1969.<ref>''The Stars and Stripes'', Vol. 47, No. 147, Sept. 12, 1988</ref>
[[File:REFORGER 1980 DF-SN-82-03350.jpg|thumb|A German woman and child watching a [[British Army]] soldier in their village during Reforger 80]]

Exercise Reforger 1988 is held to be the largest exercise during the Cold War.<ref name="dgov1">{{cite news |url=https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3656703/nato-begins-largest-exercise-since-cold-war/ |title=NATO Begins Largest Exercise Since Cold War }}</ref> Involving around 125,000 troops, it was billed as the largest European ground maneuver since [[World War II]].<ref name=sas1>''The Stars and Stripes'', Vol. 47, No. 147, Sept. 12, 1988</ref>

These exercises continued annually past the end of the Cold War, except for the year 1989, until 1993. Reforger 75 marked the operational presence of the [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marine Corps]] in Europe for the first time since [[World War I]], when the [[2nd Marine Division (United States)|2nd Marine Division's]] 32nd Marine Amphibious Unit was deployed from [[Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune|Camp Lejeune]], [[North Carolina]] as part of that exercise.<ref name=sas1/>

Reforger was not merely a [[show of force]]&mdash;in the event of a conflict, it would be the actual plan to strengthen the NATO presence in Europe.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}} In that instance, it would have been referred to as ''Operation Reforger''. Important components in Reforger included the [[Military Airlift Command]], the [[Military Sealift Command]], and the [[Civil Reserve Air Fleet]].
[[File:M2 Bradley and Infantry Reforger 1984.jpg|thumb|U.S. Army soldiers advancing past an [[M2 Bradley]] during Reforger 84]]
The [[U.S. Army]] also increased its rapid-reinforcement capability by prepositioning huge stocks of equipment and supplies in Europe at [[POMCUS]] sites. The maintenance of this equipment has provided extensive on-the-job training to reserve-component support units.

The last Reforger exercise was Reforger 93. No further Reforger exercises were held after due to [[German reunification]], the [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|dissolution of the]] [[Soviet Union]] and the Warsaw Pact, and the end of the Cold War.