Should America's Last Brigades In Europe Come Home?

Photo: Sgt. 1st Class Zachary N. Balancier, front, and and Pvt. Christian E. Risby of the 170th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, train in Grafenwohr, Germany, in October. The Defense Department is expected to decide early this year whether to keep the Baumholder-based 170th and the Schweinfurt-based 172nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team in Europe.

Europe's Brigades Remain A Contentious Issue -- Stars And Stripes

HEIDELBERG, Germany — Just last year, Adm. James Stavridis, commander of U.S. European Command and NATO supreme allied commander, told Congress that keeping four U.S. Army combat brigades in Europe — instead of two — was “crucial” to the mission and national security interests.

The four brigades were necessary for deterring aggression and adventurism. They were needed to be closer to current battlefields and to prepare for the next one by building capacity, trust and influence with our closest allies, he said.

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My Comment: Most Europeans that I know have an ambivalent altitude towards the U.S. military presence in Europe. They know that the Americans are there, but they are rarely seen and heard. If (eventually) the U.S. brigades are sent home, the reasons will be more financial than political.