"AMI" Go Home - Assessing the Realignment of U.S. Army Forces in Europe
Abstract
Stationing United States Army forces in Europe, particularly in Germany, has been a fixture of our national security and military strategies since World War II. As U. S. strategy evolved during the next fifty years, our forward presence formed the backbone of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) which contributed to the security of Europe and its economic recovery. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, while in search for new relevance in the "New World Order," U.S. force strength in Europe decreased by sixty percent. The reduced threat coupled with the emergence of the European Union shifted the transatlantic partnership pillars from security to economics and diplomacy. Without a revised comprehensive national security strategy, the military adhered to the status quo in Europe, albeit on a smaller scale. In the wake of the horrific 9/11 terror attacks in the U.S., the Bush administrations' revised National Security Strategy mandated the U.S. military transform to a joint expeditionary capabilities-based force. The reinvigorated National Military Strategy energized the services and combatant commanders to reassess force structures and disposition throughout the world to execute the Global War on Terrorism. In August 2004, Bush unveiled the global troop realignment to create more flexible and agile forces with unprecedented global reach. Finally, the military was freed from the vestiges of last century's "Germany first" grand strategy. This paper traces the origins of the U.S. Army force posture in Europe, examines, the post-Cold War and Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) geopolitical dynamics leading to the realignment, and assesses the impending changes of forces in Europe.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 18, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA433662
Entities
People
- C. B. Cholek
Organizations
- United States Army War College