Soldiers are likely to begin coming home from Europe next year, sooner than the planned drawdown in 2015.
About 40,000 soldiers — and about 100,000 dependents — are currently stationed in Europe, most of them in Germany. Among them are four brigade combat teams, three in Germany and a fourth in Vicenza, Italy.
The long-term plan calls for bringing one of those brigades home — leaving Europe with three BCTs. It’s up to the Army to choose which of the four brigades will come home and when.
I think we need to retain a robust Army in Europe. I like defending our gains. Europe is too big of a prize to assume everything will always be fine in the future.
