U.S. Army to Leave 13 Bases in Germany

[tocqueville]

By STEPHEN GRAHAM, Associated Press Writer
Fri Jul 29, 6:53 PM ET

BERLIN - The U.S. Army will pull out of 13 bases in southern Germany as part of its repositioning of American forces around the world, its European headquarters said Friday.

Eleven bases in and around the Bavarian city of Wuerzburg will be handed over to the German government by September 2007, the Army's European headquarters in Heidelberg said. Two more bases near Wuerzburg will close and be handed over in subsequent years.

The Defense Department said the changes will affect about 6,100 soldiers and 11,000 family members as well as about 1,000 Army civilian employees and 1,000 civilians employed locally.

While facilities like the huge Ramstein Air Base, a hub for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, are being retained, Washington is bringing many units home and opening smaller, more flexible bases abroad to respond to new threats such as international terrorism.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050729/ap_on_re_eu/germany_us_bases;_ylt=ApdGxqtEeFjbjmFEmQGI2sVWbBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

[expatriot]

1. from 62K to 20K in the next two years? Why so fast?

I can't think of where they will send all those extra soldiers off to in a hurry like that.

:sarcasm:

[izzie]

2. About time

We are in to many countries

[Psephos]

3. Good. I don't see any losers here. n/t