Friendly Foes: U.S.-Russia military relations soaring

As the final two presidential debates turn toward foreign policy, starting tonight, one major divergent point between President Obama and Mitt Romney still not fully explored by the candidates is Romney’s claim that Russia is America’s “number one geopolitical foe.”

So the E-Ring reached out to the top U.S. military officer in charge of the vast majority of U.S.-Russian military interactions, Rear Admiral Mark C. Montgomery, deputy director for plans, policy, and strategy at U.S. European Command (EUCOM), to see what he thinks.

As it turns out, the U.S. military interacts almost daily with Russian forces -- in training, exercising, building personal relationships, and performing real-world national security missions side-by-side. According to Montgomery, things have never been better between the old Cold War foes.

“We did about 50 events last year, and this year we’ve already accomplished more than that. I imagine we’ll be somewhere north of 70 events by the end of the year. So, a very robust, cooperative effort between our militaries,” Montgomery said.

Beyond those specific events, Montgomery said Russia is cooperating extensively with the U.S. in other tangible ways that benefit U.S. security, including allowing war supplies into Afghanistan via the Northern Distribution Network and joining counterterrorism efforts and counter-piracy operations off the Horn of Africa.
  

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