A Shrinking Army in Europe: Can the US Achieve Its Military Strategic Goals Without It?

Abstract

Since the end of the Cold War, the US Army in Europe (USAREUR) has reduced its size from over 213,000 soldiers at its height in 1989 to less than 32,000 today. Defense spending cuts required by the Budget Control Act are forcing the Army to reduce the total number of active duty soldiers in the Army and rethink its overseas basing strategy. The Cold War is over and deactivating units in Europe seems tempting considering the high costs incurred from operating overseas. This study determines whether or not the US can accomplish its military strategic goals in Europe as outlined in the Quadrennial Defense Review without USAREUR's organic brigade combat teams and support units, and instead rely on regionally aligned forces, European militaries, or other the other service components in Europe.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 13, 2014
Accession Number
ADA611663

Entities

People

  • P. C. Schleider

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • C4I
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Combatant Commanders
  • Contingency Operations (Military)
  • Employment
  • International Organizations
  • International Relations
  • Military Force Levels
  • Military History
  • Military Operations
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Recreation
  • Unified Combatant Commands
  • United States Africa Command
  • United States Central Command
  • United States European Command
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • International Relations and European Studies
  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.
  • Strategic Security Studies