Highlights
• The plan will keep more US troops in Europe than previous plans and will help aid in expanding the army
• Realignment is a response to 9/11 and the Global War on Terror and will allow for a quicker, more responsive force
• A flexible force will enhance US forces fighting around the world, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan
Late last year President George W. Bush approved a major realignment of the United States Army. Government officials have described the move as the most sweeping realignment since World War II. The realignment changes a previous plan, which called for less troops in Europe. The move also adds more troops to military installations in Colorado, Georgia and Texas to alleviate the closure of other bases across the US.
The realignment plan builds from a similar plan adopted by the Pentagon in 2004. The decision to keep more troops in Europe is one part of a large and complex realignment. Another major factor in the realignment is the growth of the US Army. To deal with the expanding Global War on Terror (GWOT), the Army plans to add an additional 74,000 active-duty soldiers, plus reserves.
The Army began reorganizing its forces in June 2006 to increase its global responsiveness and defense of the homeland. This restructuring is envisioned to transform the Army into a more responsive, agile, deployable, joint, and expeditionary force capable of sustained, continuous combat operations in the GWOT.
US Forces in Europe
The new plan freezes previous orders for rapidly reducing Army forces in Europe by two heavy brigades scheduled to leave Germany at least two years sooner than under the new program. Now, one brigade will remain in Germany until 2012 and the other until 2013.
Even after the return of these two brigades to the United States, two brigades will remain in Europe, one in Germany and one in Italy, along with a large contingent of service and support personnel. Altogether, the Army will maintain more than 37,000 troops on the continent.
Officials stated the commitment to keep about 10,000 extra troops in Europe above the level of previous plans was necessary to sustain training and other exercises with foreign militaries, and as a hedge against risks to American and allied security.
Growth and Growing Pains
Fort Carson, Colorado; Fort Stewart, Georgia; and Fort Bliss, Texas, will each receive two additional combat brigades. Additional support brigades will be based at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Lewis, Washington; and Fort Polk, Louisiana. The active-duty Army strength is scheduled to reach 547,000 by then, as the Army’s fighting force will grow to 43-48 brigade combat teams, up from 33 in 2003.
One compelling argument for keeping more troops in Germany longer than previously planned is that their new housing was not yet ready at bases in the United States. Therefore, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates decided on holding troops and families in Europe until they could move directly into their final residences.
New construction for housing, headquarters and motor pools — as well as health care and child care centers — will top $66.4 billion by 2013, emphasizing that the Army was paying special attention to quality-of-life issues for the all-volunteer force.
Outlook
The US Army’s reorganization in Europe is a product of both new, efficient operations and a realization that the European theater is critical both as an area to engage allies, and a staging base for security and other operations in Africa, the Middle East and even South Asia. Further, with Russia engaging increasingly in bellicose rhetoric and arming countries such as Iran, it’s likely the US Army views its strategic role as securing Central European autonomy and ensuring Russia looks south and east—but not west—for future options to tweak both regional nation states and the United States.
