EUCOM Transformation may send soldiers back to States
Army News Service
Release Date: 8/06/2003
By Staff Sgt. Marcia Triggs
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Aug. 6, 2003) - Moving troops out of Germany and positioning them closer to terror threats is part of the transformational plan for U.S. Europe Command.
"We don't foresee a war in Germany. So, why have a large force there," said Air Force Gen. Chuck Wald, the U.S. Europe Command deputy commander. "We have to face the fact that there is a new threat, and to address the new threat takes a different type of strategy, force and a different displacement of troops," Wald said.
In 1989 there were 315,000 active-duty troops in Europe. Today there are 106,000 in Europe, not counting those in the Balkans. Transformation has already begun, Wald said. The Air Force and Navy have already dramatically downsized, he added.
The Army is looking at one of three options, Wald said. Some soldiers will either stay in the EUCOM area of operations, go back to the States or go to countries like Bulgaria, Romania or Lithuania -- all former Soviet-bloc countries and republics -- or to the continent of Africa.
Most will go back to the States and rotate to the east on a six-month rotational basis, Wald added.
Department of the Army officials were not able to provide a timeline because the plan causes for operational decisions that are still under review.
The Marine Corps general who has been commanding EUCOM since January is devising a plan that would place troops closer to terrorist hotspots and in the backyard of NATO allies who are in need of developing a stronger military force.
"The possibility exists that we may have to shift some of our forces and basing assets to give us the flexibility, agility and ability to project power in areas where new challenges are emerging," said Gen. James Jones, EUCOM commander, in an open letter to service members, civilians and their families under his command.
Within the next year seven more countries are scheduled to become NATO allies, Wald said. "We need to set programs in place to help countries where the government, military and police force isn't as mature, and it's easy for the terrorist to come and go."
Just a few years ago there was not a military threat in Africa, Wald said. However, the proliferation of terrorist training camps was unpredictable, he said.
"Now we need to develop a habitual relationship with Africa. Also set up forward operating locations so we can train and train them so they can protect their borders and capture terrorist themselves."
Even though Africa often goes through civil strife, missions in Africa will be to deter terrorists, Wald said. There are many other countries that have armies that can certainly perform peacekeeping missions. The Army needs to do operations on the high-end of the spectrum, he added.
The Army can do peacekeeping, but they're too good for that, Wald said.
"The threat is that Al Queda alone has trained between 25,000 to 70,000 terrorists," he said. "Then the true dilemma is that who can say that Syria isn't going to pose a threat in the Middle East. No one can say that North Korea is all of a sudden not a threat. We don't know what China is going to do."
Change in the EUCOM theater will not happen for change's sake, Wald said, but because it makes sense.
"For example, Grafenwoher has a world-class irreplaceable range," he said. "What good would it do to give something like that up just to say you did it. It's the same thing with Ramstein or Stuttgart," Wald said.
There will remain a military presence in Germany, it just hasn't been decided what size the force will be, he added.
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