Reports: 1st AD may relocate to States

[Terri]

Reports: 1st AD may relocate to States

By Terry Boyd and Jon Anderson,
Stars and Stripes
Sunday, May 11, 2003


Soldiers from the 1st Armored Division, now on their way to Iraq, may find themselves returning to their home bases in Germany only to pack up and move.

Instead of shifting to a new war zone, however, this move could be a wholesale relocation back to the United States as part of a worldwide restructuring of U.S. forces. While the plan has not yet been approved, it is now under consideration at the highest levels of the Pentagon, according to several top military officials.

Speculation about the potential move was circulating among 1st AD families even before their soldiers deployed to Iraq.

Full Story (http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section= 104&article=15459)

Just so they get them out of Germany!

[Pikachu]

Wow, my son is in the 1st Armored, he just left for Iraq. He's not married, but plenty of his fellow soldiers have spouses and children waiting back in Germany.

Now, in addition to the stress of being in a combat zone, the families have to worry about when and where to they're going to move. Great timing for the announcement. I guess they couldn't wait to zing the Schroeder gov't.

I was also a soldier in Germany back in the 70s, the Germans have been our friends for many years, been good hosts to our Army, stood by us in the Cold War in the deployment of troops and Pershing II missiles. Even while the Schroeder gov't disagreed with the Iraq war, it deployed its soldiers to guard U.S. bases and helped out with the transportation and deployment of U.S. forces to Iraq.

Governments come and go, but the alliance should remain

[Terri]

Hi Pikachu, welcome to the forum!

You may be right on the timing of the announcement but it's more than that.

The world has changed and the thinking seems to be that it would be more effective to have smaller concentrations of troops in different places, partly because Russia is not presently the threat to Europe that it once was.

However, I think there is a lesson here not only for Schroeder but for other socialist European governments, as well. This administration won't keep bending over for another kick like some have in the past.

[Der Alte]

Welcome Pikachu. Your are right about the relations between the Germans and the US Forces - I spent 6 years in Germany in the 50s and 60s. I must say IMHO that one of the biggest reasons they liked us so much was because we were the ones keeping the Russians out of their back yard. Maybe things will improve between our nations after the present government in Germany gets the boot.

[Pikachu]

Terri, I know that the Russians are no longer a major threat; we already had a drawdown in Europe in 1989-1992 because of that. I still suspicious of the new proposals, and especially of the timing. And I think the timing is atrocious, at least for the soldiers themselves.

Der Alte: with a handle like yours, I would expect some German experience! It makes me think of the original "Der Alte," Konrad Adenauer, and his successors like Willi Brandt and Helmut Schmidt who were strongly on our side, and not just because they were afraid of the Russians. The Germans do share our values.

You have to differentiate between the Germans and the French. The French have undermined us for years, led the opposition to the war in a dishonest way and see themselves as an opposing power. The Germans, even the Schroeder gov't, still want to be partners with us. The Germans command the ISAF in Kabul and have many troops there. German special forces have participated in anti al-Qaeda operations in Afghanistan. Today there's a report that they are donating millions in food aid to Iraq. The French refused to. They want to be involved in peacekeeping in Iraq too, under Polish command. The Germans want us to succeed in Iraq even though they were not sold on the war. The French don't want us to succeed, and Chirac is personally corrupted with his dealings with Saddam.

I don't even buy the idea of small bases for short deployments of troops. If we take away tours in Europe accompanied by dependent spouses and children, we are just increasing the amount of family separation soldiers and airmen will have to endure. With Iraq, Korea Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, and other training and operational deployments, there's already too much time away from family for the average married NCO or officer. Frankly many if not most soldiers and airmen look forward to a tour in Germany - it's a great opportunity to see Europe and to interesting things. The environs of many bases in the USA are rather bleak and remote by comparison.

Maybe this is some ploy or trial balloon to put pressure on Schroeder or help the CDU/CSU. Many of the areas in which bases are located vote CDU or CSU. If we leave looking angry rather than gradually, it will only increase anti-Americanism.