Strykers and military support vehicles belonging to the U.S. Army’s 3rd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment stage for departure from Sochazcew, Poland, for their return to Germany, June 18, 2018. (DoD photo)
The plan is for U.S. European Command to reposition 11,900 personnel who are currently stationed in Germany to other locations, Esper said during a news conference today at the Pentagon. The move will reduce the number of U.S. military personnel in Germany from about 36,000 to 24,000. Repositioning could begin in weeks, he said, adding that with 24,000 American service members, Germany would still host the highest number of U.S. troops of any nation in NATO.
About 5,600 service members being moved out of Germany will stay within Europe. They will be moved to other NATO nations, Esper said. An additional 6,400 personnel will return to the United States, though Esper said this will not mean less support of NATO allies, because instead of having permanently stationed forces in Germany, other military units will begin rotational deployments farther east on the continent in more strategic locations, such as near the Black Sea region.
''Our aim is to implement these moves as expeditiously as possible consistent with the principles I set forth from the beginning, particularly being fair to, and taking care of our service members and their families,'' the secretary said. ''We could see some moves begin within weeks. Others will take longer. As anyone can see, the repositioning of our forces in Europe constitutes a major strategic and positive shift, wholly in line with the NDS and consistent with other adjustments the United States has made within NATO in previous times.''
Air Force Gen. Tod D. Wolters, commander of U.S. European Command and NATO's supreme allied commander for Europe, spelled out some of the specific movements planned for forces in Europe.
The Eucom headquarters and the associated U.S. Special Operations Command-Europe headquarters, for example, would move from Germany to Mons, Belgium, where they would be located with Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe.
''This will improve the speed and clarity of our decision-making and promote greater operational alignment,'' Wolters said, adding that a similar relocation could happen for U.S. Africa Command headquarters and the associated U.S. Special Operations Command-Africa, though no new location has been determined.
Wolters also said Eucom intends to reposition three brigade-sized headquarters, an air defense artillery battalion, and an engineering battalion to Belgium from Germany, as well as move two smaller support and contracting organizations to Italy. He said the 52nd Civil Engineering Squadron, an Air Force unit, could be one of the first to move. The plan is to put that unit in Italy.
Eucom also proposes relocating an F-16 fighter squadron and elements of a fighter wing to Italy. Esper said the move will put those units closer to the Black Sea region, better enabling them to support NATO in the southeast.
''The proposal to reposition forces back to [the United States], ... with respect to the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, will allow those units to regain maximum U.S. at-home-station readiness and more effectively support global contingencies while still maintaining a keen focus on Europe,'' Wolters said.
There are also plans to rotate forward the lead element of the Army's 5th Corps headquarters to Poland, Esper said, contingent on Warsaw signing a defense cooperation agreement. There may also be other opportunities to move additional forces into Poland and the Baltics, the general said.
''This rebalance, consistent with the NDS, will align NATO and Eucom capabilities, better distribute forces across Europe and increase the use of rotational forces, thus bolstering our commitment to Europe,'' said Air Force Gen. John E. Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. ''It enhances deterrence and improves operational flexibility. Repositioning our forces and making consolidations will provide General Wolters, as the commander, increased ability to dynamically employ his force. This effort will increase opportunities to partner with and strengthen our bond with allies and partners in the region. It will also require additional planning and consultation with our allies.''
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Department of Defense Statement: U.S. European Command Force Posture Review
-- Enhance deterrence of Russia
-- Strengthen NATO
-- Reassure allies
-- Improve U.S. strategic flexibility and EUCOM operational flexibility
-- Take care of our Service members and their families in the process
In total, approximately 11,900 military personnel will be repositioned from Germany, with nearly 5,600 repositioned within other NATO countries and 6,400 returning to the United States to address readiness and prepare for rotational deployments.
The plan will consolidate headquarters to strengthen operational efficiency, will reposition some forces to the United States to focus on readiness, and place rotational forces in the Black Sea region on NATO’s southeastern flank. These force posture changes meet the Secretary’s above core principles while adapting our force posture to address national security concerns in today’s environment. In addition, these changes will prioritize service members and their families as they relocate throughout the process.
Click here for Esper's opening statement at the U.S. European Command Force Posture Policy press conference, on the Pentagon website.
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U.S. defense officials announced the redeployment Wednesday, saying it was the result of a months-long evaluation of the country's military posture worldwide meant to enhance Washington's ability to both deter and respond to threats from major powers such as Russia and China.
"These changes will achieve the core principles of enhancing U.S. and NATO deterrence of Russia, strengthening NATO, reassuring allies and improving U.S. strategic flexibility," U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters Wednesday, denying the changes were meant to punish Germany.
"This is something we want to do. We feel very good about [it]," Esper added. "We want to get there as quickly as possible."
But even as Esper and other key U.S. military officials defended the redeployments as strategic, Trump told reporters at the White House that the partial U.S. pullout from Germany, expected to begin in the next several weeks, came down to money.
"We're reducing the force because they're not paying their bill," Trump said Wednesday. "It's very simple: They're delinquent."
Germany, like other NATO members, has pledged to increase its spending on defense to at least 2% of the county's GDP (Gross Domestic Product). And while that percentage has been increasing, Germany still fell short of the mark in 2019, spending 1.38% of its GDP, or about $55 billion, on defense.
"We don't want to be the suckers anymore," Trump said, adding "other NATO countries also" could see U.S. troops leave if they do not increase defense spending.
Under the plan laid out by the Pentagon, 5,600 U.S. troops will be redeployed from Germany to other NATO allies, including Belgium and Italy. Another 6,400 will return to the United States, though most of the forces will then embark on what the Pentagon is describing as "continuous rotations" to the Black Sea region.
The U.S. will also relocate U.S. European Command (EUCOM) headquarters, along with U.S. Special Operations Command Europe, from Stuttgart to Belgium.
In addition, 2,500 U.S. airmen who had been scheduled to deploy to Germany from an airbase in Britain will now stay in Britain.
Additional U.S. troops could also be sent to Poland once an agreement, currently under discussion, is finalized, or even to the Balkans.
In all, the moves will reduce the number of U.S. troops in Germany from about 36,000 to about 24,000 and cost the U.S. several billion dollars, defense officials said.
Criticism of U.S. redeployment
Reaction to the moves from U.S. lawmakers and from German officials was swift and critical.
"Instead of strengthening NATO, the troop withdrawal will weaken the alliance," Norbert Roettgen, a senior ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the chairman of the German parliament's foreign affairs committee told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper.
"The effectiveness of the U.S. military is not increased but reduced, especially with a view to Russia and ongoing military conflicts in the Middle East," he said.
The prime minister of the German state of Bavaria called the move regrettable. "This puts a burden on the German-American relationship," Markus Soeder said, expressing hope the decision to pull out troops might be reversed if Trump loses in the upcoming U.S. election.
Several key U.S. lawmakers, likewise, did not hold back in their criticism. Mitt Romney, a Republican senator who has frequently been at odds with Trump, called the partial pullout "a grave error."
"It is a slap in the face at a friend and ally when we should instead be drawing closer," Romney wrote on Twitter, adding the decision "is a gift to Russia."
Senator Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, slammed the move in a statement, saying it "will ultimately weaken U.S. efforts to counter Kremlin aggression in Europe."
"Champagne must be flowing freely this evening at the Kremlin," Menendez added.
Even U.S. lawmakers who often side with Trump offered only measured support for the plan. "While some of the proposed moves clearly have merit, other aspects such as an arbitrary limit to the number of troops stationed in certain countries – remain troubling," Republican Mac Thornberry, the outgoing chair of the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement.
Prior to Wednesday's announcement, multiple European officials had said if the U.S. were to pull troops from Germany, they should at least be stationed elsewhere in Europe.
Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks, who earlier this month offered to host U.S. forces set to leave Germany, said punishing Germany was not in NATO's interest.
"A presence in Germany is vital for global security," he said. "If the relationship is sour, it's not good for anybody."
Moving U.S. troops, headquarters
Despite such concerns, NATO leadership Wednesday defended the U.S. decision, saying in a statement that the plan "underlines the continued commitment by the United States to NATO and to European security."
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also said that the U.S. had consulted closely with NATO allies ahead of the announcement.
At the same time, top U.S. defense officials said they have been in contact with the U.S. State Department and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to help facilitate the changes.
"It requires diplomacy," Defense Secretary Esper told reporters. "I had a good conversation last week with the German defense minister," he added. "We will obviously be engaging the defense ministry in the coming days and weeks with more detail."
Those details could also include plans for relocating U.S. Africa Command headquarters, currently based with U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, though Esper and other U.S. defense officials said they have yet to formulate any concrete plans.
There are also questions about how soon the plan to redeploy U.S. troops from Germany can be put into effect.
While U.S. defense officials Wednesday said the changes would start taking place in the next several weeks, the Senate Armed Services Committee chairman, Republican Jim Inhofe, said in a statement last week after being briefed that although the overall plan "is sound … it is clear to me that this concept that will take months to plan, and years to execute."
There are also concerns about the cost benefit of moving key military headquarters.
"If I were still working in the Senate I think key questions would be how much is it going to cost to do to make these investments in Belgium and where else could that money be better spent," said Bradley Bowman, a former adviser to members of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees, now with the Washington-based Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.
"We confront so many serious threats from Moscow and from Beijing, not to mention Pyongyang and Tehran and terrorism, I think the burden of proof is on anyone who suggests that we should spend the next defense dollar doing military construction in Belgium for a headquarters that is doing quite well in Germany," he said.
Bruno Lete, an analyst with the German Marshall Fund, warned if the plan goes through, there will be other costs, as well.
"Germany has been traditionally and is still a very important hub for U.S. operations in North Africa and the Middle East," he told VOA. "There are important logistical centers there, command and control centers. If you reduce personnel from these hubs, basically your response time will be slower.
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