Overseas Military Presence: U.S. Land Forces in Europe
Abstract
The security of Europe is a vital U.S. national interest and for over fifty years, America has contributed to that security by stationing forces on the European continent. The objective of U.S. overseas presence in Europe has evolved from containment, deterrence, and escalation control to a visible posture of US forces and infrastructure strategically positioned forward to promote stability, help prevent conflict and ensure protection of US interests. U.S. overseas presence demonstrates American determination to defend U.S., allied and friendly interests. The enlargement of NATO, demise of the Russian threat, cost of overseas presence, appearance of new threats, and competing military stationing requirements has altered the justification for maintaining a large force structure in Europe. The key question is whether the composition and disposition of the current European force structure is well suited to meet the nation's strategic security needs. The crux of the issue is whether the forces currently stationed in Europe, given the plethora of both conventional and unconventional, as well as asymmetric threats, specifically meet U.S. national and military security strategies for the region and American foreign policy interests overall. This paper examines the American overseas presence concept as it specifically relates to the ground forces assigned to the U.S. European Command and analyzes potential alternatives to that policy.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 07, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADA415738
Entities
People
- Alfred Viana
Organizations
- United States Army War College