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2014, March - Congressional Research Service Report covering military draw downs in Europe:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/R42493.pdf
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The number of U.S. forces officially carried on the books as permanently based in Europe, who are not currently in Europe, and who the Obama administration is never planning to send back to Europe ( from Afghanistan ), are in the thousands.
One of the justifications for the ongoing removal of U.S. forces from Europe ( forces actually currently located in Europe - or then currently located in Europe before they were cut in 2012, 2013 or 2014 ) was that X number of U.S. troops are officially based there ( in Europe ), so the ones that are actually living in Europe in 2012, 2013 and 2014 ( as opposed to temporarily fighting in Afghanistan ) were not really needed ( because, it is assumed for justification purpose, those in Afghanistan will be coming back to Germany ).
But the truth is different.
[ Please Note - When a unit permanently based in Germany is deactivated, before members of that unit return to the unit's permanent base in Germany ( from Afghanistan ), the military members assigned to the unit fighting in Afghanistan never return to Germany ]
2014, March - Congressional Research Service Report covering draw downs in Europe:Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service, Report wrote:
Army Drawdown and Restructuring: Background and Issues for Congress
Andrew Feickert
Specialist in Military Ground Forces
Force Structure Announcements
DOD Announces U.S. Army in Europe Force Structure Changes
On March 1, 2013, DOD announced a series of force structure changes for the U.S. Army in
Europe from the period 2013 through 2016. The text of the news release is as follows:21
DOD Announces U.S. Army in Europe Force Structure Changes
The Department of Defense announced today that Germany-based elements of the 173rd
Airborne Brigade Combat Team will relocate within Germany and to Italy in summer 2013.
A total of four battalions will be relocated. Two battalions will relocate from Germany to
Italy; the brigade’s headquarters and one infantry battalion will relocate from Caserma
Ederle in Vicenza, Italy, to the Army’s new facility in Del Din (formerly known as Dal
Molin) in Vicenza.
The other two battalions will relocate from Schweinfurt and Bamberg,
Germany, to Grafenwoehr, Germany.
In addition to the previously announced inactivation of
V Corps Headquarters and the 170th and 172nd Infantry Brigades, the disposition of 2,500
enabling forces ( support forces needed if U.S. combat forces return to Germany to fight ) are provided as follows:
In 2012 ( fiscal year 2012 ending September 30th, 2012):
170th Infantry Brigade, Smith Barracks, Baumholder, Germany – Inactivated
.........( note - inactivated: means the military unit no longer exists - members are returned to the U.S. for reassignment/discharge )
167th Medical Detachment (Optometry), Grafenwoehr, Germany – Inactivated
In 2013 ( fiscal year 2013 ending September 30th, 2013):
535th Engineer Company, Warner Barracks, Bamberg, Germany – Inactivated
12th Chemical Company, Conn Barracks, Schweinfurt, Germany – Inactivated
V Corps Headquarters, Clay Kaserne, Wiesbaden, Germany – Inactivated
172nd Infantry Brigade, Grafenwoehr, Germany – Inactivated
Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 391st Combat Service Support Battalion, Warner
Barracks, Bamberg, Germany – Inactivated
B Detachment, 106th Finance Company, Katterbach Kaserne, Ansbach, Germany –
Inactivated
42nd Engineer Company, Warner Barracks, Bamberg, Germany – Unit has Returned to the United
States
99th Movement Control Team, Aviano Air Base, Italy – Unit has Returned to the United
States
In 2014 ( fiscal year 2014 ending September 30th, 2014):
Headquarters, 18th Engineer Brigade, Conn Barracks, Schweinfurt, Germany –Inactivated or Inactivates
243 Engineer Detachment, Conn Barracks, Schweinfurt, Germany – –Inactivated or Inactivates
54th Engineer Battalion, Warner Barracks, Bamberg, Germany – –Inactivated or Inactivates
370th Engineer Company, Warner Barracks, Bamberg, Germany – –Inactivated or Inactivates
7th Signal Brigade, Ledward Barracks, Schweinfurt, Germany – –Inactivated or Inactivates
72nd Signal Battalion, Ledward Barracks, Schweinfurt, Germany – –Inactivated or Inactivates
Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 95th Military Police Battalion, Sembach
Kaserne, Kaiserslautern – –Inactivated or Inactivates
630th Military Police Company, Warner Barracks, Bamberg, Germany – –Inactivated or Inactivates
464th Military Police Platoon, Camp Ederle, Italy – –Inactivated or Inactivates
511th Military Police Platoon, Livorno, Italy – –Inactivated or Inactivates
541st Engineer Company, Warner Barracks, Bamberg, Germany – Unit has ( or will ) Return to the United
States
In 2015 ( fiscal year 2015 ending September 30th, 2015):
230th Military Police Company, Sembach Barracks, Kaiserslautern, Germany –Inactivated or Inactivates
3rd Battalion, 58th Aviation Regiment (Airfield Operations Battalion), Storck Barracks,
Illesheim, Germany – Unit has ( or will ) Return to the United
States
In 2016 ( fiscal year 2016 ending September 30th, 2016):
69th Signal Battalion, Grafenwoehr, Germany –Inactivated or Inactivates
525th Military Police Detachment (Military Working Dogs), Baumholder, Germany -
Unit has ( or will ) Return to the United
States
1st Battalion, 214th General Support Aviation Regiment structure is reduced at Clay Kaserne,
Wiesbaden, by 190 soldier spaces and at Landstuhl Heliport by 50 soldier spaces.
Information on the disposition of other units in the closing U.S. military communities of
Bamberg ( Germany ) and Schweinfurt ( Germany ) will be provided in the near future, as those force structure actions
are determined. These actions are part of DOD’s ongoing restructure of resources worldwide
in line with our national defense strategy and in support of combatant commanders, NATO
and our European allies.
June 2013
Army Force Structure and Stationing Announcement
On June 25, 2013, the Army announced
Active Component force structure decisions and stationing plans that it attributed to the fiscal constraints resulting from of the Budget Control Act of 2011 and the previously cited 2012 Defense Planning Guidance. The Army noted that
additional force reductions would be required if “sequestration-driven funding reductions remain
unmitigated.”
In terms of force structure changes the Army stated it would
• Reduce active (duty ) Component Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs) from 45 to 33; and
Specific BCTs to Be Cut Between FY2013 and FY2017
In addition to the previously announced cuts of the 170th and 172nd BCTs in Germany, the Army stated the following 10 Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs) would also be eliminated:
.
. ( detail omitted - see linked document - and other more current documents - for details - U.S. based BCT cuts )
.
As part of this announcement, the Army also noted that it would reduce and reorganize numerous
non-BCT units—often referred to as enablers ( support units )—as part of the drawdown. The Army did not provide specifics on these ( support ) units as it did the BCTs to be cut, and providing a similar level of detail
for these non-BCT ( support ) units to be eliminated would be particularly helpful to Congress as it ( Congress) examines the potential national security impact of these ( completed and on going ) force reductions.
Also, on June 25, 2013, the Army announced
Army to Accelerate Downsizing
Reports suggest that:
The impact of sequestration [in fiscal 2013], coupled with the threat of continued
sequestration levels of funding, is forcing the Army to implement significant reductions to
end-strength, readiness and modernization in order to generate short-term cost savings, we
are accelerating the downsizing of the Army’s active (duty) component end-strength to 490K by FY15 instead of FY17. Additionally, we will maintain a certain number and mix of units at a
higher level of readiness to meet contingency requirements.
( This 2 year acceleration, was announced just a few months after the original schedule for Europe was, belatedly, disclosed to Congress. )
The implications of shortening the drawdown ( the original schedule for the drawdown, from Europe, was disclosed to Congress just a few months before the acceleration was announced) by two years could be quite profound. A significant level of effort will be involved in the planning and execution of these complex operations. This might also lead to a great deal of turbulence for the soldiers and their families as these units are rapidly disbanded.
How the Army Plans to Achieve Accelerated Downsizing26
In order to achieve this accelerated drawdown ( rapid unit disbanding), the Army reportedly plans to use a “full menu of
involuntary separation programs.”27 This new accelerated plan means the Army will reduce the
Active Component by almost 42,000 soldiers by the end of September 2015 and that many
soldiers with good service records and who are qualified for continued service will be
involuntarily separated from the Army. The Army estimates that 5,000 officers and 20,000
enlisted soldiers will be forced to leave active duty through involuntary separation or early
retirement. Reportedly, for the first time since the 1970s, the Army plans to convene reduction-inforce,
or RIF, boards in early 2014 for captains and majors in over strength year groups. In
addition to involuntary separations, the Army will reduce the number of soldiers and officers
(usually newly commissioned second lieutenants) it brings into the Army each year.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/R42493.pdf
Please Note - all the above unit de-activations, movement of other units from Europe to the U.S., and re-organizations, WERE BEFORE, AND IN ADDITION TO, THE MORE RECENT CUTS ANNOUNCED, by the Obama administration, in January, 2014 ( those more recent announced cutbacks are covered in the linked Congressional Research Service document - but not quoted in this post ).