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2007-06-28 Home Front: WoT

US Army plan would cut soldiers in Europe by half

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Posted by lotp 2007-06-28 00:00|| || Front Page|| [4 views ] Top

#1 lotp, the military personnel aren't needed, but their money sure is in some of the surrounding towns. That's what they'll truly miss.

Now, can we bring some personnel back from Korea, too?

Posted by Swamp Blondie 2007-06-28 00:51|| 2007-06-28 00:51|| Front Page Top

#2 Yes, how about cutting US ground forces in SK by, say, 100%?

Posted by Anguper Hupomosing9418 2007-06-28 01:29|| 2007-06-28 01:29|| Front Page Top

#3 Good!

Posted by Rex Mundi 2007-06-28 02:49|| 2007-06-28 02:49|| Front Page Top

#4 I find it interesting that critics are worried about sending the wrong message to neighboring countries and that there might not be room for the troops in the US. Grasping at straws, perhaps?

But bringing back 160,000 troops from Iraq the day after tomorrow is no problem? Go find critics with consistency.

Posted by Bobby 2007-06-28 05:58|| 2007-06-28 05:58|| Front Page Top

#5 Minimizing US troop levels in Europe sends the wrong message to other countries in Europe

There are other countries in Europe besides the US? Why doesn't anybody tell me these things?!?

/Sorry. But what was the editor that makes the professionals so much more trustworthy than the bloggers thinking?

Posted by trailing wife 2007-06-28 06:10|| 2007-06-28 06:10|| Front Page Top

#6 Sharp eye, TW. I hadda read it two more times!

Posted by Bobby 2007-06-28 06:24|| 2007-06-28 06:24|| Front Page Top

#7 "troop-to-task" assessment....<

Wish someone would do a "dick-to-jane" assessment here in the ITO. I'd love to see the medical stats on tummy melon re-deployers. This COED fobbit army is certainly impressive.

Posted by Besoeker 2007-06-28 06:57|| 2007-06-28 06:57|| Front Page Top

#8 Besoeker, are you talking about pregnancies by military personnel?

Posted by gromgoru 2007-06-28 08:12|| 2007-06-28 08:12|| Front Page Top

#9 Besoeker, are you talking about pregnancies by military personnel?

Posted by gromgoru 2007-06-28 08:13|| 2007-06-28 08:13|| Front Page Top

#10 I would remove most troops from Europe, keeping rapid reaction forces along with the personal for the missile defense in Poland and eastern Europe. The rest of Europe can do without.

Posted by DarthVader">DarthVader 2007-06-28 09:26|| 2007-06-28 09:26|| Front Page Top

#11 The EU has its own Rapid Reaction Force. All U. S. troops out of EUrope, now.

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2007-06-28 09:41|| 2007-06-28 09:41|| Front Page Top

#12 Including those to be deployed with ballistic missile defense in Poland, NS?

Posted by lotp 2007-06-28 09:42|| 2007-06-28 09:42|| Front Page Top

#13 Besoeker, are you talking about pregnancies by military personnel?

Most likely. At least he isn't on a tear about Rumsfeld.

Posted by Pappy 2007-06-28 09:45|| 2007-06-28 09:45|| Front Page Top

#14 The article is unclear on whether they're counting the new bases in Bulgaria, Romania, and Poland as "Europe" for purposes of talking about the 35,000 plan, or the four-brigade alternative, for that matter. Are we talking "Old Europe", or the aggregate of the old bases & the new eastern bases? Because 35,000 sounds like too much if we're talking Germany & the old NATO bases, but too little if we're counting all the old Cold War bases & the forward bases across Eastern Europe.

Posted by Mitch H.">Mitch H. 2007-06-28 09:49|| http://blogfonte.blogspot.com/]">[http://blogfonte.blogspot.com/] 2007-06-28 09:49|| Front Page Top

#15 Redeploy them and the SK troops to Taiwan.

Posted by Excalibur 2007-06-28 09:55|| 2007-06-28 09:55|| Front Page Top

#16 Even back in the eighties I thought our troops in Europe were more like tourists than defenders. And I was one of them.

Posted by Cyber Sarge 2007-06-28 09:58|| 2007-06-28 09:58|| Front Page Top

#17 They're talking Old Europe - EU Referendum covers a lot of military stuff, too.

Army's moving/closing something in England and the AF was thinking about it, too, and some politicos were surprised, IIRC.

Posted by anonymous2u 2007-06-28 11:23|| 2007-06-28 11:23|| Front Page Top

#18 60k rolling down to 35k hmm around 25k being restationed? Maybe that 25k is what we are going to leave in Iraq. Don't froget Bush/Baker/even the Dems short the Koskids are all calling on 15-30k continued presence in Iraq. The argument is when can/should we draw down to that level. My personal opinion is not until we deal with Iran.

The forces based in Germany are heavy infantry and calvary along with some mech units. Perfect for what will be needed in Iraq for decades to come as the insurance policy against the neighbors invading and a internal coup (pretty much the exact role our forces in both S Korea & Germany played after both of those conflicts ended).

Like someone mentioned those bases in Bulgaria and Romania are being setup not as large barracks or troops but as pernament transit points staging areas but only small pernament barracks.

Posted by C-Low 2007-06-28 13:13|| 2007-06-28 13:13|| Front Page Top

#19 This figure is Army only. There are still Air Force and Navy personnel. Remove those that do not directly contribute to America's well being.

Posted by ed 2007-06-28 13:26|| 2007-06-28 13:26|| Front Page Top

#20 Besoeker, you should've seen how many we took off our T/O prior to deployment just for pregnancies or all the ones we had to leave off for post partums. Of course we had to fill their line numbers w/new joins or Marines who just got back from Iraq &/or Afghanland within the past year - disgusting. Not to mention how many of these new preggers had been in the Corps less than 2 yrs and have never deployed. Thank the Almighty I am no longer in that unit.

Posted by Broadhead6 2007-06-28 13:55|| 2007-06-28 13:55|| Front Page Top

#21 I spent ten years in Germany between 1971 and 1989, mostly in an (Air Force) intelligence unit that no longer exists. My information about Soviet deployments in Eastern Europe was first-hand. In those days, 350,000 troops in Germany was a good insurance policy to keep Russians on their side of the border. Today, there is no such threat, and little need for more than a few brigades to hold ground long enough for more troops to deploy. Europe, during the same period, cut its military to the bone, reduced capabilities, and in general left more and more of the actual defense of Europe to Americans. The only people today with capable armed forces are the former Eastern European satellites of the old Soviet Union. Unfortunately, they are using antiquated equipment that wouldn't survive for long on a modern battlefield. There's no doubt that Europe needs to take on a bigger part of their own defense - more troops, more modern equipment, more reasonable rules of engagement, better training, and closer coordination among member states. We also need some congresscritters in the United States that have a brain, and can actually understand what the military is saying when they talk to them. Here in Colorado, there's a big debate on whether to expand the Pinon Canyon Training Area. The ranchers want to continue the status quo. The Army wants more training space to allow them to train the additional manpower they're getting due to all the troop realignments. Congress is more interested in playing politics than meeting the needs of either the military or the locals.

Posted by Old Patriot">Old Patriot 2007-06-28 16:43|| http://oldpatriot.blogspot.com/]">[http://oldpatriot.blogspot.com/] 2007-06-28 16:43|| Front Page Top

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