The commandant of the US Marine Corps warned soldiers stationed in Norway that "there's a war coming" and they should prepare for a "bigass fight".
"I hope I'm wrong, but there's a war coming," General Robert Neller told around 300 Marines stationed at the Norwegian Homeguard base. A spokesman later said that the statement was not in reference to any specific adversary, but rather intended to inspire the troops.
The US troops are in intended to support operations by NATO and the US-European Command. Speaking to them about the importance of readiness even during peacetime missions, he said they should always be prepared for a change.
"You're in a fight here, an informational fight, a political fight, by your presence," he said, in comments reported by Military.com.
Neller made the remarks while fielding questions from soldiers in a town-hall style forum.
He told the troops stationed there that military planners were focused on Russia and the Pacific as possible future flashpoints of conflict.
"I think probably the focus, the intended focus is not on the Middle East. The focus is more on the Pacific and Russia," he said.
"They're watching. Just like you watch them, they watch you. We've got 300 Marines up here; we could go from 300 to 3,000 overnight. We could raise the bar."
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