Auf Wiedersehen

It’s been in the works for some time now.

The United States will close nearly half of its hundreds of installations in Europe as part of the massive restructuring plan, three senior defense officials and a State Department official told Pentagon reporters on condition of anonymity.

It’s a good idea (World War III is over), but I feel a bit sorry for future GIs who will never know the pleasure of being stationed in Germany.

It will be a gradual reduction and there will still be American troops stationed in Deutschland, just not so many.

Pentagon (news - web sites) officials said Monday the 1st Armored Division and 1st Infantry Division probably won't start leaving their bases in Germany until 2006 at the earliest. They will be replaced by a brigade — a much smaller unit — equipped with Stryker armored vehicles, which are much lighter and quicker than the M1A1 Abrams tanks used by the divisions they will replace.

Though it's tempting to opine that the US should let the Germans (and the French) swing in case of any new conflict that may arise--come on, it's Europe--I think that keeping a token presence on the continent serves our interests more that a bit of revenge might.

Comments

[Phelps]

The basic reality is that we aren't going to need to pulse those M1s anywhere in Eastern Europe anytime soon. We ARE likely to have to pulse a MBT battalion somewhere in the Middle East in the near future. It makes a ton more sense to base them in Iraq than Germany.

Then again, maybe in 20 years GIs will be lamenting the new recruits not getting the experience of being based around the rich ME culture in a friendly Iraq.

[Marc]

I'am waiting for all the Bush haters to come out of the woodwork and claim this is just a backhanded ploy and admission that he failed to send enough troops into Iraq a year ago.

It is coming, I feel sure. I also bet Gore will be the first to utter this nonsense. Any takers at 2 to 1 odds?

[Eskimo]

I don't think we will ever see a complete voluntary withdrawal from Germany or Europe for that matter. I do find it amusing that Germany being one the countries exhibiting the most unabashed anti-American criticism in the last 3 years is now 'concerned' about the redeployment. Not that they are worred Poland is going to come tearing across the Oder to extract some payback but rather the economic benefits that are going to go away. They were stung pretty bad before when we went from 250,000 to 70,000.

Oh well, we came, we saw and we're leaving.

Tschüs

[quasimod]

Having been a Cav Scout stationed in Amberg back in the ‘80’s (with the requisite divorce to prove it), I don’t quite get the concern over depriving future soldiers of the experience. I’ll have to take your word for it.

I have thought for years that we should pull our troops out of Germany, but I can see the need to keep a small force there. There is always the chance that we might come up with an excuse to declare war on France, in which case we would need troops close enough that they might actually get to France before the French have a chance to surrender. A full brigade seems like a bit of overkill, though.

[DarkStar]

I have a cousin who moved to Germany after her husband was stationed there.

She went screaming and kicking. Now, she wants to live there permanently.

[baldilocks]

Q: Guess it all depends on where one was stationed, one's service component, and one's job. I was AF, stationed in Berlin, doing fun stuff that I would tell you about, but have to kill you afterward.

Of course with you being a Cav scout, I might have to hire someone to do it. :-)

[quasimod]

Baldilocks, I doubt you would ever have needed to hire someone else. Now that I'm old, fat and bald you should definitely save your money.

[baldilocks]

old, fat and bald

That makes two of us, except that I'm only kinda old and kinda fat. :-)

[Christopher Taylor]

The troops we had in Europe were in response to Soviet aggression and to have a ready force in place just in case. The Soviet Union and its expansionist tendencies and chest beating are gone now, so there's really no need for us to have a huge force in place.

In terms of economics and training, I can see how it's useful to have the soldiers in Europe, but quite honestly if they think the US is such a horrid place and the people are such monsters, I can't see any reason for them not to have to defend themselves... from each other. Europe was more or less at a constant state of war until WW2, I expect it to return to that in about 10 years if we leave.

Certainly it's hard not to be tempted to leave them to their own self-destructive tendencies, but look at what they've turned into after 50 years of not having to worry about defense in any manner.

[StinKerr]

I understand that a lot of troops will be redeployed to Poland. An excellent idea as they will be as welcome as their money. I fear in Germany that only the money is welcome any more.

Besides, it's time for Germany to rebuild their army, if only to make the French nervous.

[anachronda]

Sigh. I'm an Army brat who spent some time in Germany. I have an older sister born in Frankfurt and a younger one in Munich. I'm an engineer because of a field trip to the Deutsches Museum when I was in first or second grade; I had completely forgotten about the trip until I returned on a business trip several years ago and had a flashback while visiting the steam engines in the museum.

I spent three years in Munich (Fort McGraw) shortly before the '72 Olympics. Toured the construction site. We were transferred stateside before the Olympics happened. Got out of school early a couple of times due to bomb threats against my elementary. The first time they sent us home. For subsequent events they sent us to the hospital and showed us cartoons while they searched the school.

I spent two years in Stuttgart (Robinson Barracks) right around '76. School there was an old prison from WWII and it still had the bars. Broke my leg playing soccer in 7th grade. Did some Volksmarching. Was a Schuelerlotsendienst (school crossing guard); got talked to by the MPs because some of the soldiers interpreted our hand signals waving them on as a sign they should speed up.

Good times. Lots of memories.

[Mike]

I suppose they'll keep Ramstein.

When I was there - a long time ago, stationed on a small base not too close to a small city - everybody figured - probably rightly - that the mission of the 7th Army was to slow down the advance of the Russian Army if it ever decided to go prowling.

Not stop - though that would be nice, too - but just slow them down long enough to call in the Cavalry.

[John Salmon]

The Bush haters (inc. Bill Schneider of CNN) are already calling this a "shell game" (his words) to move the troops to Iraq eventually. There is a real question about whether the Asian troop reductions make sense.

[Noble Eagle]

A friend of mine used to joke that we weren't in Germany to keep the Russians out, we were there to keep the Germans from getting the urge to start invading their neighbors again (you see that? Try to take over Europe twice and you're marked for life).

My old division (1st AD) will be one of those leaving. I'm glad I had a chance to do a tour there. Of course, if I'd been in Berlin like Baldilocks was, I might still be there (helluva city).

[ErikZ]

The front has moved. Time to move the troops.

[triticale]

Auf Wie der
sehento the wild blue yonder...

Seriously, tho, I understand that this stand-down has been before the Armed Services Commitee for a couple of years. If anything they should question the timing and not the move. Incompetant @r$eholes.

[Gene]

Actually it is not much of a change. Right now most of the Troops are either deployed in Bosnia, Kossovo, Afghanistan or Iraq or are training and refitting in preparation for going back to Iraq.

The main difference will be be that the home bases for the Troops, their Families and the support staff of civilians will move to the States.

Ramstein/Kaiserslautern will probably stay here for quite a while.

PS: The Beer is still good here!