Citing a climate of austerity, the Department of Defense announced it will carry out a number of base closures and realignments across the Atlantic that, it says, will save the department roughly a half billion dollars annually.
More than 60,000 US troops will still remain on the continent – a contingency that Pentagon officials claim is “absolutely vital” to national security.
A poll released by Rasmussen in May 2014 showed that 39 percent of likely voters want US troops to remain in Western Europe. Thirty-six percent support withdrawal, and a 25 percent aren’t sure.
These force changes come in the wake of a strategic review known as European Infrastructure Consolidation (EIC). Pentagon officials announced the conclusions of on Thursday.
Fifteen US military bases and facilities will be returned to host nations in the United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and Portugal.
All told, the Pentagon estimates that 6,000 US personnel will be relocated to other bases in Europe, and that 1,200 support positions will be eliminated across the continent. Up to 1,100 host nation positions could be eliminated as well, plus an additional 1,500 staff could be impacted through relocation.
According to the Pentagon, that translates to savings of $500 million a year.
The nation most affected is the UK, where American forces are pulling out of the Royal Air Force Station Mildenhall. The facility currently supports 3,200 US troops, and more than a thousand personnel from the host nation.
Part of those losses will be offset by a new deployment of 1,200 US troops to RAF’s Lakenheath, which will eventually be a permanent station of two F-35 Joint Strike Fighter squadrons.
Speaking to reporters, Pentagon officials stressed that the base closures will in no way effect “operational capability.” Citing hot spots like Ukraine and the Middle East, they said “European and transatlantic security is more important than ever.”
Also announced on Thursday was a new round of infrastructure investment and enhanced training exercises with European allies. The Assistant Secretary of Defense for International security and Affairs, Derek Chollet, told reporters that “we continue to have security interests in Europe and security threats in Europe.”
When asked why 67,000 US troops are still necessary in Europe given the new threats posed by asymmetric warfare, Chollet cited treaty obligations and the need to “reassure our NATO allies.”
“Our military presence of course has come down in European has come down significantly since the Cold War, but maintaining a strong robust force presence in Europe is absolutely vital to our national security interests,” he claimed.
