Undercutting the Strategy: US Troop Withdrawals from Germany and Europe

Abstract

On 15 June 2020, former President Donald Trump announced plans to withdraw U.S. troops from Europe. Part of this plan, as announced by administration officials, called for the full withdrawal of the Army's 2nd Cavalry Regiment from the European theater. In February of 2021, Secretary of Defense Austin's Pentagon halted President Trumps plan and called for a review of the troop withdrawal plan. In support of the SECDEFs holistic review of the global force posture, this paper considers some of the costs, monetary and otherwise, for pursuing the plans announced by the Trump Administration. Ultimately, this paper recommends that not only should 2CR remain within the European theater but that it should also be converted back into an armored formation to enhance US and NATO allied deterrence of Russian aggression.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 29, 2021
Accession Number
AD1144396

Entities

People

  • Garrett E. Sobalvarro

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Army
  • Department Of Defense
  • Deterrence
  • Europe
  • Foreign Policy
  • Governments
  • Instructors
  • Logistics
  • Military Equipment
  • National Security
  • Security
  • Transportation Infrastructure
  • Troop Withdrawal
  • United States
  • United States European Command
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP).
  • Government and Public Administration Law.
  • Strategic Security Studies