Panetta: 2 Army combat brigades will leave Europe

[malaise]

http://www.stripes.com/news/panetta-2-army-combat-brigades-will-leave-europe-1.165867
<snip>
Two U.S. Army combat brigades will be withdrawn from Europe as part of a new Pentagon defense strategy that aims to find efficiencies while also shifting more strategic focus to Asia.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta made the announcement Thursday while en route to a town hall meeting with troops at Fort Bliss, Texas.

In an interview with the American Forces Press Service, Panetta said the Army intends to maintain a strong presence in the region via rotational units.

Panetta did not say which of the four Europe-based brigades would be withdrawn, but past Pentagon plans have focused on the 170th Infantry Brigade in Baumholder and the 172nd Infantry Brigade, headquartered in Grafenwöhr. Panetta also did not lay out a time line for when the units would be withdrawn or explain whether the units would be returned to bases in the U.S. or inactivated.

There are 80,000 uniformed personnel in Europe, from all the services. The elimination of two brigades would cut the 42,000-strong Army presence in Europe by 10,000 to 15,000 soldiers.
-----------------
Looks like WWII and the Cold War are finally winding down!!

[think]

1. It's a start!

[izquierdista]

2. So soon?

How will we balance the Red Army numbers in the Eastern Zone of Occupation?



Never mind, I'll go back to my 65 year nap....

[Ichingcarpenter]

3. This was planned under the Bush Adm in 2004

In 2004, the U.S. announced plans to reduce forces in Europe, to around 60,000 from 100,000, while Donald Rumsfeld was Defense Secretary. The plans were put on hold in 2007 by the Bush administration, soon after Mr. Rumsfeld was succeeded by current secretary Robert Gates. That reflected disquiet among senior officers that basing too many troops in the U.S. would keep them too far away from potential trouble spots in Africa and the Middle East.


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704503104576250972103835748.html



Its good news but the military has been planning this for years and this was Rumsfeld's idea.


Hey, BTW.... my son just gave me a Jamaican Ham as a gift from his work.
Its a Danish ham prepared a la Jamaican
never had one before ate it for breakfast.
yummy.

[Robb]

4. If you look at the numbers, they're not even close.

This is a radical departure from the 2004 proposal.

[malaise]

6. LOL

I'm guessing it was jerked danish ham

[TheKentuckian]

5. Will this transform to two divisions like the AfPak surge, or does that multiple only work

for increases?

[Are_grits_groceries]

7. It's VE Day! nt

[Lasher]

8. U.S. troops quietly surge into Middle East

Friday, January 13, 2012

The Pentagon has quietly shifted combat troops and warships to the Middle East after the top American commander in the region warned that he needed additional forces to deal with Iran and other potential threats, U.S. officials said.

Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, who heads U.S. Central Command, won White House approval for the deployments late last year after talks with the government in Baghdad broke down over keeping U.S. troops in Iraq, but the extent of the Pentagon moves is only now becoming clear.

Officials said the deployments are not meant to suggest a buildup to war, but rather are intended as a quick-reaction and contingency force in case a military crisis erupts in the standoff with Tehran over its suspected nuclear weapons program.

The Pentagon has stationed nearly 15,000 troops in Kuwait, adding to a small contingent already there. The new units include two Army infantry brigades and a helicopter unit - a substantial increase in combat power after nearly a decade in which Kuwait chiefly served as a staging area for supplies and personnel heading to Iraq.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/01/12/MNR11MOPB2.DTL