NATO must fill military gaps to be ready for conflicts, commander says

FILE PHOTO: NATO flag is seen during NATO enhanced Forward Presence battle group military exercise Silver Arrow in Adazi, Latvia October 5, 2019. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins/File Photo

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO countries must make up for post-Cold War cuts to military equipment to give the alliance the capacity to respond swiftly to a conflict, the commander of NATO's quick reaction force, first in line to respond to a crisis, told Reuters.

"We have an incredible amount of forces but our shortcoming is that the majority of these forces is not combat-ready on a permanent base – simply because they do not have all the equipment they need," General Joerg Vollmer said.