United States Army Europe and Africa (USAREUR-AF) is an
Army Service Component Command (ASCC) /
Theater
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...
Army responsible for directing
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...
operations throughout the
U.S. European Command (EUCOM) and
U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM)
area of responsibility
Area of responsibility (AOR) is a pre-defined geographic region assigned to Combatant commanders of the Unified Command Plan (UCP), that are used to define an area with specific geographic boundaries where they have the authority to plan and co ...
.
During the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...
, it supervised ground formations primarily focused upon the
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republi ...
to the east as part of
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...
's
Central Army Group
Headquarters Allied Force Command Heidelberg (HQ FC Heidelberg) was a formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) responsible for providing deployable joint staff elements (DJSE) in support of NATO operations worldwide. It was head ...
. Since the
revolutions of 1989
The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Natio ...
, it has greatly reduced its size, dispatched U.S. forces to the
Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
s of 1990-91 and the
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including ...
, the
Kosovo War
The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...
, the
War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
The War in Afghanistan was an armed conflict that began when an Participants in Operation Enduring Freedom, international military coalition led by the United States launched United States invasion of Afghanistan, an invasion of Afghanistan, ...
and increased security cooperation with other NATO land forces.
In 2020, the Army announced that
United States Army Africa would consolidate with U.S. Army Europe to form a new command, U.S. Army Europe and Africa. The two commands were consolidated on November 20, 2020.
History
World War II
The
European Theater of Operations, United States Army
The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground Fo ...
(ETOUSA) was a Theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the
European theatre of World War II
The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II. It saw heavy fighting across Europe for almost six years, starting with Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 and ending with the ...
from 1942 to 1945. It commanded
Army Ground Forces
The Army Ground Forces were one of the three autonomous components of the Army of the United States during World War II, the others being the Army Air Forces and Army Service Forces. Throughout their existence, Army Ground Forces were the large ...
,
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
, and
Army Service Forces
The Army Service Forces was one of the three autonomous components of the United States Army during World War II, the others being the Army Air Forces and Army Ground Forces, created on 9 March 1942. By dividing the Army into three large comman ...
operations north of Italy and the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...
coast. It was bordered to the south by the North African Theater of Operations, US Army (NATOUSA), which later became the
Mediterranean Theater of Operations
The Mediterranean Theater of Operations, United States Army (MTOUSA), originally called the North African Theater of Operations, United States Army (NATOUSA), was a military formation of the United States Army that supervised all U.S. Army for ...
(MTOUSA).
When the war ended in Europe on 8 May 1945, the ETOUSA headquarters was located in
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...
, France, just outside Paris. As Eisenhower and his staff began to prepare for the occupation of Germany, the ETOUSA headquarters staff moved to Frankfurt, Germany. In Frankfurt the staff was co-located with the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces and the
Office of Military Government, United States
The Office of Military Government, United States (OMGUS; german: Amt der Militärregierung für Deutschland (U.S.)) was the United States military-established government created shortly after the end of hostilities in occupied Germany in World W ...
. ETOUSA was redesignated Headquarters, United States Forces European Theater (HQ USFET) on 1 July 1945, remaining in Frankfurt.
At the end of the war, the total U.S. Army strength in Europe was 2.4 million: two Army groups (
6th
6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number.
In mathematics
Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second ...
and
12th), five field armies (
First,
Third
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
Places
* 3rd Street (disambiguation)
* Third Avenue (disambiguation)
* Hi ...
,
Seventh,
Ninth
In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second.
Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...
and
Fifteenth
In music, a fifteenth or double octave, abbreviated ''15ma'', is the interval between one musical note and another with one-quarter the wavelength or quadruple the frequency. It has also been referred to as the bisdiapason. The fourth harmonic, ...
), 13 corps headquarters, and 62 combat divisions (43 infantry, 16 armor, and 3 airborne). There were 11,000 tanks and armored fighting vehicles. Within a year rapid redeployments had brought the occupation forces down to fewer than 290,000 personnel, and many of the larger formations had departed or been inactivated.
The Seventh Army headquarters remained in control of the western portion of the American zone, and the Third Army controlled the eastern portion. In November 1945, the two field army commanders organized district "constabularies" based on cavalry groups. The Seventh Army was inactivated in March 1946, in Germany. On 1 May 1946, the zone-wide
United States Constabulary
The United States Constabulary was a United States Army military gendarmerie force. From 1946 to 1952, in the aftermath of World War II, it acted as an occupation and security force in the U.S. Occupation Zone of West Germany and Austria.
Reaso ...
headquarters was activated at
Bamberg
Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castl ...
. in mid-1946, the tactical units consisted of the Third Army (Heidelberg) with three infantry divisions (1st, 3rd and 9th) and several separate regiments (3rd, 14th, 29th and
508th Airborne). The 3rd Infantry Division was in the process of being redeployed back to the United States. Another separate infantry regiment - the 5th - was located in Austria but came under the control of US Forces in Austria. In 1947 Headquarters Third Army returned to the United States. From then until the early 1950s, the structure of the American occupation forces consisted of the
1st Infantry Division, a separate infantry regiment, and the U.S. Constabulary of 10 cavalry regiments.
From c1947 to 1954, the
351st Infantry Regiment served as the main body of
Trieste United States Troops, on the border of Yugoslavia.
Cold War
On 15 March 1947,
United States Forces, European Theater
The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground For ...
(USFET) was "replaced by the army command known as European Command (EUCOM). ..The Army element of the joint European Command headquarters was initially called Headquarters, U.S. Ground and Service Forces, Europe."
On 15 March 1947, HQ USFET was formally redesignated Headquarters, European Command (HQ EUCOM) (not to be confused with the present joint command, "USEUCOM", which was formed on 1 August 1952). Between February and June 1948 the headquarters relocated to
Campbell Barracks
Campbell Barracks, in Heidelberg, Germany, was home to Headquarters, United States Army Europe (USAREUR) from 1948 to 2013. It was also home to Headquarters, V Corps and Headquarters, Allied Force Command Heidelberg.
History
As part of the Ger ...
in Heidelberg, where it remained until June 2013. The Army element of the joint European Command headquarters was initially called Headquarters, U.S. Ground and Service Forces, Europe.
On 15 November 1947, U.S. Ground and Service Forces, Europe, was renamed U.S. Army, Europe (USAREUR) to accord with the new
Department of the Army
The United States Department of the Army (DA) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the U.S. The Department of the Army is the federal government agency within which the United States Army (U.S.) is org ...
nomenclature for such commands. USAREUR was a nonoperational, "paper" organization that provides the ground and service commander with the command functions required for administrative and logistical support. To it were assigned all ground and service units in the command except those assigned to the
Office of Military Government, United States
The Office of Military Government, United States (OMGUS; german: Amt der Militärregierung für Deutschland (U.S.)) was the United States military-established government created shortly after the end of hostilities in occupied Germany in World W ...
; to the Office of the Commander in Chief of European Command; to
U.S. Air Forces Europe
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
; to the
U.S. Navy, Germany
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
; and to a few exempted War Department agencies.
The offices and personnel of the general and special staff divisions of EUCOM headquarters performed USAREUR's general and special staff duties. The principal function of the commanding general of USAREUR became the establishment and maintenance of high standards of discipline. General Huebner also became Commanding General, USAREUR.
The
Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, ro ...
began 24 June 1948 when the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway and road access to the sectors of Berlin under Allied control. Even though Allied forces in the city were outnumbered 50–1, General Lucius D. Clay, in charge of the US Occupation Zone in Germany, gave the order for the
Berlin Airlift
The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, ro ...
. Headquartered out of
Wiesbaden Army Airfield
Lucius D. Clay Kaserne (german: Flugplatz Wiesbaden-Erbenheim) , commonly known as Clay Kaserne, is an installation of the United States Army in Hesse, Germany. The '' kaserne'' is located within Wiesbaden-Erbenheim. Named for General Lucius D. ...
, the Allies supplied almost 9,000 tons per day of supplies to the beleaguered city until the blockade was lifted on 12 May 1949.
From 1948 to 1950, Cold War tensions grew, and the outbreak of hostilities in Korea in June 1950 heightened east–west tensions in Europe. The Seventh Army was reactivated at
Vaihingen, Stuttgart in late November 1950. The two U.S. Army division sized units in the U.S. Occupation Zone of Germany, the First Infantry Division and the U.S. Constabulary, were assigned to the Seventh Army. Within a few weeks other assignments to the Seventh Army included the
V and
VII Corps 7th Corps, Seventh Corps, or VII Corps may refer to:
* VII Corps (Grande Armée), a corps of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars
* VII Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World War I
* VII R ...
. Due to President Truman's 10 December 1950 Declaration of a National Emergency as a result of circumstances in the Korean War, four CONUS based U.S. Army divisions were alerted to move to the U.S. Occupation Zone of Germany (these divisions were known as the augmentation force to the U.S. Army in Europe). A main concern was possible Soviet attempts to "take advantage" due to their numerical superiority in Germany during the Korean War. The first augmentation division to arrive overseas in Germany was the
4th Infantry Division in May 1951, followed by the
2nd Armored Division and the
43rd and
28th Infantry Divisions during summer and fall of 1951.
On 24 November 1950 EUCOM activated HHC
Seventh United States Army
The Seventh Army was a United States army created during World War II that evolved into the United States Army Europe (USAREUR) during the 1950s and 1960s. It served in North Africa and Italy in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations and Fran ...
at Stuttgart to take over the command of the ground and service forces from USAREUR, while other USAREUR functions revert to EUCOM. General Eddy became CG of Seventh Army. HQ USAREUR continued to exist, without troops, to fulfilled certain legal requirements in connection with court-martial and other responsibilities.
A new joint, multi-service
United States European Command was established in
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...
, Germany on 1 August 1952. General
Matthew B. Ridgway
General Matthew Bunker Ridgway (March 3, 1895 – July 26, 1993) was a senior officer in the United States Army, who served as Supreme Allied Commander Europe (1952–1953) and the 19th Chief of Staff of the United States Army (1953–1955). Altho ...
became commander and Gen.
Thomas T. Handy
Thomas Troy Handy (March 11, 1892 – April 12, 1982) was a United States Army four-star general who served as Deputy Chief of Staff, United States Army from 1944 to 1947; Commanding General, Fourth United States Army from 1947 to 1949; Comman ...
deputy commander. On that day, the U.S. Army headquarters at Heidelberg, formerly known as EUCOM, became Headquarters, United States Army, Europe. It remained in Heidelberg under the temporary command of General Handy (who wore two hats in both USEUCOM and USAREUR for a while). As Cold War tensions continued to escalate in 1952, General
Williston B. Palmer
Williston Birkhimer Palmer (November 11, 1899 – November 10, 1973) was a United States Army four-star general who served as Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1955 to 1957; Deputy Commander in Chief, United States European Co ...
commanding the
2nd Armored Division authorized the founding of the
Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra
The Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra was the only symphonic orchestral ensemble ever created under the supervision of the United States Army. Founded by the composer Samuel Adler, its members participated in the cultural diplomacy initiatives of t ...
in Vaihingen-Stuttgart under the direction of
Samuel Adler in support of U.S.
cultural diplomacy
Cultural diplomacy is a type of public diplomacy and soft power that includes the "exchange of ideas, information, art, language and other aspects of culture among nations and their peoples in order to foster mutual understanding". The purpos ...
throughout Europe.
In 1953, the Korean War Armistice was signed, and tensions began to ease in Europe. About 13,500 soldiers manned each of the USAREUR divisions. New equipment fielded at the time included the
M48 tank
The M48 Patton is an American first-generation main battle tank (MBT) introduced in February 1952, being designated as the 90mm Gun Tank: M48. It was designed as a replacement for the M26 Pershing, M4 Sherman, M46 and M47 Patton tanks, and wa ...
, the
M59 armored personnel carrier
The M59 was an American armored personnel carrier that entered service in the spring of 1954 replacing the M75. It had three key advantages over the M75: it was amphibious, had a lower profile, and was considerably cheaper to produce. Productio ...
, and tactical nuclear weapons. On 25 October 1955, the
Southern Europe Task Force (SETAF), a logistical command, was formally activated in Italy. The headquarters, commanded by Maj. Gen.
John H. Michaelis
John Hersey Michaelis (August 20, 1912 – October 31, 1985) was a United States Army four-star general who served as Commander in Chief, United Nations Command/Commander, United States Forces Korea/Commanding General, Eighth United States Ar ...
, was temporarily established at Camp Darby, near Livorno, Italy with units additionally stationed in Vicenza and Verona. Shortly after activation, SETAF moved the headquarters to Caserma Passalacqua in Verona, Italy. An airborne battalion eventually joined SETAF.
On 15 July 1958 USAREUR forces were ordered to assist the Lebanese government. Task Force 201, the Army component of
Operation Blue Bat rapidly deployed more than 8,000 Soldiers from Europe to Beirut by air and sea. As the situation quickly stabilized, all U.S. forces redeployed from the country within 4 months.
Although the Korean War – open East–West conflict – had ended, political tensions remained high in Europe. Particularly troublesome was the impasse over the
Federal Republic of Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...
(West Germany, the former British, French and U.S. zones of occupation) and the
German Democratic Republic
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**G ...
(East Germany, the former Soviet zone of occupation). East Germany
he DDR
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
was considered by many countries over the years to be nothing more than the Soviet Zone of Occupation; this changed in 1973 with the UN recognition of both Germanies.
Berlin posed an additional problem; it was surrounded by East Germany, but Great Britain, France, the United States, and the Soviet Union all occupied sectors in the city. In the early years, travel between the sectors was unrestricted. At the time Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev announced in June 1961 that the Soviet Union was planning to conclude a peace treaty with the East German government, 3,000 East German refugees flowed daily into Berlin.
Suddenly on the night of 12 August 1961, the Soviets closed the border crossing points and began to construct the
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the gover ...
, isolating the three western sectors of the city both from East Germany and the Soviet sector, or East Berlin. In response, the United States deployed an additional armored cavalry regiment to Europe, along with additional support units. USAREUR strength reached a post-
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
high of 277,342 in June 1962 as the crisis deepened. That 1946–1991 Cold War maximum USAREUR troop record gradually reduced over time.
The command dispatched a reinforced infantry battle group to Berlin to strengthen the existing garrison. The nuclear armed USAREUR did not go to DEFCON 3 during 22 Oct to 20 November 1962 Cuban Crisis due to political reasons. All other US Forces worldwide were at DEFCON 3 per JFK's 22 October speech and direction to the Pentagon; SAC went to DEFCON 2.
The crisis cooled in Berlin from 1962 to 1963, and augmenting forces returned to the United States. Equipment modernization programs during this period included the
M113 armored personnel carrier, the
M14 rifle
The M14 rifle, officially the United States Rifle, Caliber 7.62 mm, M14, is an American selective fire battle rifle chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO (.308 in) cartridge. It became the standard-issue rifle for the U.S. military in 1959, r ...
, the
M60 machine gun
The M60, officially the Machine Gun, Caliber 7.62 mm, M60, is a family of American general-purpose machine guns firing 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges from a disintegrating belt of M13 links. There are several types of ammunition approved fo ...
, the
OV-1 fixed wing observation aircraft, the
UH-1B Huey helicopter, the
M151 MUTT truck, and the
M60 Patton
The M60 is an American second-generation main battle tank (MBT). It was officially standardized as the Tank, Combat, Full Tracked: 105-mm Gun, M60 in March 1959. Although developed from the M48 Patton, the M60 tank series was never officially ...
tank. In late 1963 Operation BIG LIFT tested the use of prepositioned equipment through redeployment of the 2nd Armored Division to Europe via a single airlift.
In 1966, France withdrew from the
NATO Military Command Structure
The Structure of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is complex and multi-faceted. The decision-making body is the North Atlantic Council (NAC), and the member state representatives also sit on the Defence Policy and Planning Committee (DPPC ...
, and U.S. forces were withdrawn from France. The communications zone headquarters moved from Orleans, France, to Worms, Germany, (and later to Kaiserslautern, where as 21st Theater Support Command it remains today). USEUCOM moved to Stuttgart.
On 1 December 1966, the separate Seventh Army headquarters was eliminated, and HQ USAREUR became Headquarters and Headquarters Company, U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army.
In January 1967, in accordance with Headquarters
Department of the Army
The United States Department of the Army (DA) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the U.S. The Department of the Army is the federal government agency within which the United States Army (U.S.) is org ...
Msg NR DA796059 dated 9 January 1967, the USAREUR and Seventh Army staffs were combined to become U.S. Army Europe/Seventh Army. Nearly forty years later, Army Campaign Plan DP 58 (circa 2006) effectively dropped the Seventh Army title. Decisions that took effect in 2006 stated that the official designation would be "United States Army Europe" (USAREUR). The organization perpetuates the lineage and honors of the Seventh Army and authorized the display and wear of appropriate Seventh Army heraldic items.
The first Redeployment of Forces from Germany took place in 1968, with the removal of about 28,000 military personnel from Germany. The units and personnel withdrawn remained committed to NATO and during
REFORGER I – Return of Forces to Germany – conducted in January 1969, more than 12,000 soldiers returned to Germany for an exercise using pre-positioned equipment.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the needs of the war in Vietnam reduced USAREUR's assigned strength, sometimes drastically. As the war began to wane, forces began to return to Europe, and USAREUR adopted a new system based upon the community commander concept. In 1974, efforts to streamline the headquarters resulted in the termination of the U.S. Theater Army Support Command, and its replacement by a smaller organization, the 21st Theater Army Area Command, now known as
21st Theater Sustainment Command (TSC).
In the 1970s, USAREUR continued to improve its firepower when it received the new
M16A1 rifle, the
TOW anti-tank weapon, the
OH-58 Kiowa
The Bell OH-58 Kiowa is a family of single-engine single-rotor military helicopters used for observation, utility, and direct fire support. It was produced by the American manufacturer Bell Helicopter and is closely related to the Model 206A ...
observation helicopter, and the
AH-1G Cobra helicopter.
During the 1970s, force protection concerns grew as Palestinian groups brazenly conducted terror operations in Europe, such as the kidnapping of Israeli athletes during the 1972 Munich Olympics, and the
Red Army Faction
The Red Army Faction (RAF, ; , ),See the section "Name" also known as the Baader–Meinhof Group or Baader–Meinhof Gang (, , active 1970–1998), was a West German far-left Marxist-Leninist urban guerrilla group founded in 1970.
The ...
and the
Red Brigades
The Red Brigades ( it, Brigate Rosse , often abbreviated BR) was a far-left Marxist–Leninist armed organization operating as a terrorist and guerrilla group based in Italy responsible for numerous violent incidents, including the abduction ...
targeted U.S. facilities and personnel with bombings, kidnapping and assassinations. In May 1972 bombs exploded at V Corps headquarters in Frankfurt, killing an Army lieutenant colonel, and in Heidelberg at
Campbell Barracks
Campbell Barracks, in Heidelberg, Germany, was home to Headquarters, United States Army Europe (USAREUR) from 1948 to 2013. It was also home to Headquarters, V Corps and Headquarters, Allied Force Command Heidelberg.
History
As part of the Ger ...
, killing three Soldiers. U.S. installations were attacked sporadically throughout the remainder of the decade, including a failed 1977 attack on a U.S. Army post in
Giessen
Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 unive ...
.
On 15 September 1981, an assassination attempt was made on USAREUR commander Gen.
Frederick J. Kroesen
Frederick James Kroesen Jr. (February 11, 1923 – April 30, 2020) was a United States Army four-star general who served as the Commanding General of the Seventh United States Army and the commander of NATO Central Army Group from 1979 to 1983, a ...
and his wife as they were driving through Heidelberg—the automobile trunk lid deflected the
RPG-7
The RPG-7 (russian: link=no, РПГ-7, Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт, Ruchnoy Protivotankoviy Granatomyot) is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank, rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Th ...
anti-tank projectile. In 1985 Army
Specialist Edward Pimental
Edward F. Pimental (June 19, 1965 – August 8, 1985) was an American soldier of the United States Army who was murdered by the Red Army Faction in West Germany.
Biography
Pimental was born on June 19, 1965, in Fall River, Massachusetts, and r ...
was lured out of a
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...
nightclub and killed for his ID card which was then used to enter
Rhein-Main Air Base
Rhein-Main Air Base (located at ) was a United States Air Force air base near the city of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was a Military Airlift Command (MAC) and United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) installation, occupying the south side ...
the next day to plant a bomb that killed two. And in 1986 a bombing at a Berlin disco frequented by service members killed two Soldiers.
With increased combat and support components in place, the command undertook a wide-ranging modernization in the decade of the 1980s. More than 400 new systems were introduced, including individual weapons, field rations, the
M1A1 Abrams tank
The M1 Abrams is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern armored ground warfare and now one of the heaviest ta ...
, the M2 and M3
Bradley
Bradley is an English surname derived from a place name meaning "broad wood" or "broad meadow" in Old English.
Like many English surnames Bradley can also be used as a given name and as such has become popular.
It is also an Anglicisation of t ...
series of infantry and cavalry fighting vehicles, the
Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS), the
MIM-104 Patriot
The MIM-104 Patriot is a surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, the primary of its kind used by the United States Army and several allied states. It is manufactured by the U.S. defense contractor Raytheon and derives its name from the radar comp ...
air defense system, the
UH-60 Black Hawk
The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift utility military helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted the S-70 design for the United States Army's Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System ( ...
and the
AH-64A Apache
The Boeing AH-64 Apache () is an American twin-turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night visi ...
helicopters.
In January 1967, in accordance with Headquarters
Department of the Army
The United States Department of the Army (DA) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the U.S. The Department of the Army is the federal government agency within which the United States Army (U.S.) is org ...
Msg NR DA796059 dated 9 January 1967, the USAREUR and Seventh Army staffs were merged to become Headquarters and Headquarters Company, United States Army Europe and Seventh Army (HHC USAREUR 7A).
Changes of the 1990s
The dramatic events of the late 1980s – the opening of the
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the gover ...
,
German reunification
German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...
, and the collapse of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
– combined to change USAREUR again. Intermediate nuclear weapons of the
56th Field Artillery Command were withdrawn, chemical weapons were moved out of Europe, and units began to depart the European continent while others were inactivated.
When Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990, USAREUR began deploying units to the region. The first deployments from USAREUR to Saudi Arabia in August 1990 included the 45th Medical Company, an element of the 421st Medical Battalion (AA), and advance elements of
12th Aviation Brigade, which by September had deployed two Apache attack helicopter battalions, an
OH-58 Kiowa
The Bell OH-58 Kiowa is a family of single-engine single-rotor military helicopters used for observation, utility, and direct fire support. It was produced by the American manufacturer Bell Helicopter and is closely related to the Model 206A ...
scout helicopter company, a Black Hawk utility helicopter company, a
CH-47 Chinook
The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem rotor helicopter developed by American rotorcraft company Piasecki Helicopter, Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Rotorcraft Systems#Background, Boeing Vertol. The Chinook is a heavy-lift helicopter that is a ...
platoon, and associated support and maintenance units. These were quickly followed by intelligence specialists, chemical warfare experts, logistical personnel, many individual replacements, and finally almost the entire
VII Corps 7th Corps, Seventh Corps, or VII Corps may refer to:
* VII Corps (Grande Armée), a corps of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars
* VII Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World War I
* VII R ...
.
The command eventually deployed more than 75,000 personnel plus 1,200 tanks, 1,700 armored combat vehicles, more than 650 pieces of artillery, and more than 325 aircraft. When the war ended, many USAREUR soldiers remained to complete the logistical cleanup; others were deployed to northern Iraq or Turkey as part of
Operation Provide Comfort
Operation Provide Comfort and Provide Comfort II were military operations initiated by the United States and other Coalition nations of the Persian Gulf War, starting in April 1991, to defend Kurdish refugees fleeing their homes in northern ...
to aid refugees. Upon their return to Europe, many also found that their units were in the process of either relocating to the Continental United States (CONUS) or inactivating.
In 1992 alone, about 70,000 soldiers redeployed to CONUS with about 90,000 family members. The command shrank from 213,000 soldiers in 1990 to 122,000 in 1992. The
VII Corps 7th Corps, Seventh Corps, or VII Corps may refer to:
* VII Corps (Grande Armée), a corps of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars
* VII Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World War I
* VII R ...
was inactivated. From 858 installations in 1990, USAREUR went down to only 415 in 1993 with more scheduled to close in the years ahead.
After the
Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
and the subsequent drawdowns, USAREUR faced a wholly different challenge in Europe. The command was engaged in humanitarian support operations, to include disaster relief and rescue and recovery, peacekeeping and non-combatant evacuations. Between 1990 and 1993 the command supported 42 deployments, which involved a total of 95,579 personnel.
Conflict in the Balkans quickly became one of the
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...
's primary areas of focus, and peace enforcement in Bosnia was a harbinger of future military operations. From 1990 to 1995 USAREUR conducted mostly humanitarian operations in the area. In October 1992, USAREUR sent the 212th
Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) and personnel from the 7th Medical Command to
Zagreb
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...
, Croatia to provide medical support for
United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) casualties. Throughout 1993–1995, USAREUR's 5th Quartermaster Company, in conjunction with
United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), delivered humanitarian aid to the region.
In June 1993, the command formed Task Force Able Sentry in the
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
A former is an object, such as a template, gauge or cutting die, which is used to form something such as a boat's hull. Typically, a former gives shape to a structure that may have complex curvature.
A former may become an integral part of the ...
with the headquarters at Camp Able Sentry near the capital
Skopje
Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre.
The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...
. These forces, along with personnel from 26 other countries, were originally part of the UNPROFOR which in 1995 became the U.N. Preventative Deployment force (UNPREDEP) deterring the spread of armed conflict. Upon expiration of the initial UN mandate in February 1999, USAREUR renamed the U.S. Army organization Task Force Sabre, with the task to protect U.S. facilities and equipment. They were relieved in June 1999 by the U. S. national support element to
Kosovo Force (KFOR)-
Task Force Falcon Task Force Falcon has been the name of several United States Army Task forces.
Kosovo
Task Force Falcon, a brigade-sized task force, was created on 9 June 1999 under the command of Brigadier General Bantz John Craddock using selected elements ...
(Rear). U.S. Soldiers left Camp Able Sentry in 2002, but it remained as a contractor operated logistics base until Aug. 2004 when all U.S. personnel departed and NATO assumed control of the camp.
In
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
, after the
Dayton Peace Accords
The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement or the Dayton Accords (Croatian language, Croatian: ''Daytonski sporazum'', Serbian language, Serbian and Bosnian language, Bosnian: ''Dejto ...
were reached in November 1995, USAREUR's
1st Armored Division began deploying there in December, with the first
Lockheed C-130 Hercules
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally design ...
landing in
Tuzla
Tuzla (, ) is the third-largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the administrative center of Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 110,979 inhabitants.
Tuzla is the economic, cultural, ed ...
in Bosnia, on 2 December, and the first trains departing Germany 8 December. One major barrier to the deployment of the 1st Armored Division was the bridge over the
Sava
The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally th ...
River, which was destroyed during the four-year civil war. Construction of the longest assault float bridge in military history, 620 meters long, ribbon float (pontoon) bridge between
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
and
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
began on 22 December.
Despite melting snow that flooded the river and later, freezing temperatures, the bridge was completed on 31 December and the first
M1A1 Abrams tank
The M1 Abrams is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern armored ground warfare and now one of the heaviest ta ...
crossed the bridge at 10 am. The division, along with many
Reserve Component
The reserve components of the United States Armed Forces are military organizations whose members generally perform a minimum of 39 days of military duty per year and who augment the active duty (or full-time) military when necessary. The reserv ...
support troops, formed Task Force Eagle as part of the NATO-led
Implementation Force
The Implementation Force (IFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peace enforcement force in Bosnia and Herzegovina under a one-year mandate from 20 December 1995 to 20 December 1996 under the codename ''Operation Joint Endeavour''.
Background
NATO ...
, under the overall command of British General
Michael Walker. Task Force Eagle's mission was to implement and monitor the military aspects of the agreement, enforce the cease-fire, supervise the marking of boundaries and the zone of separation between the former warring factions, and enforce the withdrawal of the combatants to their barracks and the movement of heavy weapons to storage sites.
It was the first time a NATO sponsored force had deployed operationally outside the NATO boundaries. IFOR was succeeded in December 1996 by a smaller, NATO-led
Stabilisation Force
The Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (SFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Bosnian war. Although SFOR was led by NATO, several non-NATO countries contributed troops. It ...
(SFOR) (Operation Joint Guard) whose mission was to deter renewed hostilities. On 20 June 1998 the mission was renamed Operation Joint Forge, with USAREUR continuing to serve as the supervising
Army Service Component Command
Army Service Component Commands (ASCCs) are U.S. Army commands responsible for recommendations to the Joint Force Commander on the allocation and employment of U.S. Army forces within a combatant command or further assigned to subordinate unified c ...
. On 24 November 2004, Task Force Eagle officially disestablished and closed its base in Tuzla, with European Union forces assuming responsibility for the Bosnia mission.
In early 1999, in response to growing ethnic tensions in Kosovo and military and paramilitary forces in daily conflict resulting in the more than 1,500 Kosovar Albanian deaths and 400,000 refugees, USAREUR formed Task Force Falcon, with the 1st Infantry Division as the core element. On 9 June 1999, after an inconclusive air campaign, Task Force Falcon deployed forces in the largest combined air-rail-sea-road movement since Operation Desert Storm, entering Kosovo on 12 June 1999, as part of Operation Joint Guardian, a NATO-led peacekeeping force with a UN mandate to separate warring factions, oversee the withdrawal of Serb forces and interdict the flow of arms to insurgents.
On 17 February 2008, the Kosovo Assembly declared Kosovo independent. Currently, the U.S. Army, with approx. 800 Soldiers, has the lead for Multinational Battle Group East (MNBG-E) in the eastern region, headquartered near Uroševac at
Camp Bondsteel
Camp Bondsteel is the operation headquarters of the Kosovo Force (KFOR) in Kosovo. It is located near Ferizaj in eastern Kosovo. It is the Regional Command-East headed by the United States Army (U.S. Army) and it is supported by troops from Gre ...
as part of KFOR. Contributing nations include Greece, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Ukraine. The majority of U.S. Soldiers come from U.S.
Army National Guard
The Army National Guard (ARNG), in conjunction with the Air National Guard, is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States A ...
units, with a different state taking over the lead for each rotation of approximately nine months.
Twenty-first century
The
11 September 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...
did not directly affect the Seventh Army. However, the
campaign in Iraq in 2003 did. The headquarters of
V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to:
France
* 5th Army Corps (France)
* V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
* V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Ar ...
was deployed to
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
, as did
173rd Airborne Brigade
The 173rd Airborne Brigade ("Sky Soldiers") is an airborne infantry brigade combat team (IBCT) of the United States Army based in Vicenza, Italy. It is the United States European Command's conventional airborne strategic response force for Eu ...
, and after the campaign,
1st Armored Division followed for occupation duties. With parts of
1st Infantry Division also deployed in Iraq, and others on peacekeeping duties in the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
, Seventh Army was virtually stripped of combat formations. The return of 173rd Brigade, V Corps and 1st Armored Division in early 2004 was followed by the deployment of the rest of 1st Infantry Division for occupation duties. V Corps began a rotational deployment in 2009 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The U.S. Army's reorganization plans from 2005 called for the formation's major subordinate units –
1st Armored Division and
1st Infantry Division – to be relocated to the continental United States –
Fort Bliss
Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Named in honor of William Wallace Smith Bliss, LTC William Bliss (1815–1853), a mathematics professor who was the son-in-law of President ...
, Texas, and
Fort Riley
Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in North Central Kansas, on the Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 101,733 acres (41,170 ha) in Gear ...
,
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
, respectively. The
2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, converted to a
Stryker
The Stryker is a family of eight-wheeled armored fighting vehicles derived from the Canadian LAV III. Stryker vehicles are produced by General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada (GDLS-C) for the United States Army in a plant in London, Ontario. It ...
Brigade, and the 12th Aviation Brigade, replaced them. The Seventh Army, having been merged with US Army Europe since 1967, remained merged, as was confirmed with the release of unit designations for the modular force in mid 1996.
HQ USAREUR and V Corps were planned to merge and the process started until the decision was made to retain a Corps Headquarters within USAREUR, and V Corps was once again separated from HQ USAREUR. It was then decided that V Corps would deactivate after a final deployment to Afghanistan.
In September 2005, it was expected that the finalised force in Europe would consist of USAREUR HQ, V Corps, aviation and combat service support, and two maneuver brigades: the
2nd Cavalry Regiment in
Vilseck
Vilseck is a town in the Oberpfalz region of northeastern Bavaria, Germany, situated on the river Vils, a tributary of the Naab river.
The town is geographically separate from a nearby large American military base known as the ''Rose Barracks ...
, Germany, the 173rd Airborne Brigade, which will eventually expand to three airborne battalions, in Italy.
Joint Task Force East
Black Sea Area Support Group (BS-ASG), (Formerly Joint Task Force-East) is a United States European Command initiative executed by U.S. Army Europe (USAREUR) designed to strengthen relationships between the United States and its Eastern European ...
provided from forces rotating from continental United States though bases in
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
and
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
, was initially intended to be provided by a rotating US-based brigade.
Two bases at
Constanța
Constanța (, ; ; rup, Custantsa; bg, Кюстенджа, Kyustendzha, or bg, Констанца, Konstantsa, label=none; el, Κωνστάντζα, Kōnstántza, or el, Κωνστάντια, Kōnstántia, label=none; tr, Köstence), histo ...
, Romania were developed, apparently with the main facility at
Mihail Kogălniceanu International Airport
Mihail Kogălniceanu Airport is situated in southeastern Romania, in the commune of Mihail Kogălniceanu, north-northwest of Constanța. It is the main airport of the Northern Dobruja region and provides access to Constanța County, the Port of ...
. Initially however,
Joint Task Force East
Black Sea Area Support Group (BS-ASG), (Formerly Joint Task Force-East) is a United States European Command initiative executed by U.S. Army Europe (USAREUR) designed to strengthen relationships between the United States and its Eastern European ...
was to have been provided by a rotational 2nd Cavalry Regiment Stryker squadron. The Task Force was originally planned to be called the Eastern Europe Task Force. However, since the stresses of the Iraq and Afghan deployments, the army provision of Joint Task Force East has been replaced by a Marine force known as the
Black Sea Rotational Force
Black Sea Rotational Force began in 2010 with the purpose to form a Security Cooperation Marine Air-Ground Task Force. The forward postured troops' ability to conduct military-to-military engagements with partner nations in Eastern Europe while ...
.
Army Campaign Plan DP 58 (circa 2006) effectively dropped the Seventh Army title from U.S. Army Europe. Decisions that took effect in 2006 stated that the official designation would be Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, United States Army Europe. The organization perpetuates the lineage and honors of the Seventh Army and authorized the display and wear of appropriate Seventh Army heraldic items.
From 2008 to 2012–13, the two to three brigades listed above were augmented by the
170th Infantry Brigade and the
172nd Infantry Brigade, 'reflagged' former V Corps/1st Armored Division formations. Thus from 2008 to 2013, the force was expected to consist of two heavy brigades combat teams, the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, and the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team.
On 3 December 2008 in Rome, Italy, an official announcement by the U.S. and Italian governments stated that the Southern Europe Task Force would become U.S. Army Africa (USARAF), and one week later on 9 December 2008 USARAF was established as the Army Service Component Command of AFRICOM. According to the Army Times, this marked the end of the airborne chapter of SETAF's history and the beginning of its new role as the Army component of AFRICOM.
On 25 October 2009, in a ceremony at the Parade Field on Daenner Kaserne, the 7th US Army Reserve Command,
United States Army Reserve
The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed F ...
, was inactivated and redesignated the 7th Civil Support Command (CSC). In September 2015 the 7th CSC became the
7th Mission Support Command
7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube.
As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, s ...
.
On 26 January 2012,
Chief of Staff of the United States Army
The chief of staff of the Army (CSA) is a statutory position in the United States Army held by a general officer. As the highest-ranking officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army, the chief is the principal military advisor and a ...
General
Raymond Odierno
Raymond Thomas Odierno (8 September 1954 – 8 October 2021) was an American military officer who served as a four-star general of the United States Army and as the 38th chief of staff of the Army. Prior to his service as chief of staff, Odiern ...
announced that two Army heavy infantry brigades would be withdrawn from Europe and inactivated. As the 170th Brigade was one of only two such heavy infantry brigades in Europe at the time, it was believed that it was one of the units slated to be inactivated in the wake of large cuts in the
U.S. defense budget
The
170th Infantry Brigade at Baumholder was deactivated on 9 October 2012.
In 2013, further reductions of U.S. forces in Europe were announced, that would reduce U.S. Army Europe to 30,000 soldiers in two
brigade combat team
The brigade combat team (BCT) is the basic deployable unit of maneuver in the U.S. Army. A brigade combat team consists of one combat arms branch maneuver brigade, and its assigned support and fire units. A brigade is normally commanded by a ...
s. These reductions include unit deactivations and facilities closures at
Warner Barracks, Bamberg and
Schweinfurt
Schweinfurt ( , ; ) is a city in the district of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the surrounding district (''Landkreis'') of Schweinfurt and a major industrial, cultural and educational hub. The urban agg ...
. Military police units were reduced: 202nd MP Group and the 1002nd MP Battalion were disbanded on 24 June 2013. In February 2013, it was announced that
V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to:
France
* 5th Army Corps (France)
* V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
* V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Ar ...
would be inactivated in June 2013.
In a ceremony on 12 June 2013, V Corps was awarded the
Army Superior Unit Award
The Superior Unit Award is a decoration of the United States Army which is awarded in peacetime to any unit of the Army which displays outstanding meritorious performance of a difficult and challenging mission carried out under extraordinary circum ...
and
Meritorious Unit Citation
The Meritorious Unit Citation is a collective group decoration awarded to members of Australian military units. It recognises sustained outstanding service in warlike operations. The Meritorious Unit Citation was created in 1991, along with the ...
and formally inactivated. In April 2013, the last of U.S. Army's main battle tanks left Europe due to the departure of the U.S. Army's last two Germany-based heavy brigades: the
170th out of
Baumholder
Baumholder () is a town in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, in the Westrich, an historic region that encompasses areas in both Germany and France. The town of Baumholder is the administrative seat of the like-named ''Verb ...
and the
172nd at
Grafenwöhr
Grafenwöhr (, Northern Bavarian: ''Groafawehr'') is a town in the district of Neustadt an der Waldnaab, in the region of the Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz) in eastern Bavaria, Germany. It is widely known for the United States Army militar ...
.
V Corps reactivated and the Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 11 February 2020, the
United States Department of the Army
The United States Department of the Army (DA) is one of the three military departments within the United States Department of Defense, Department of Defense of the U.S. The Department of the Army is the Federal government of the United States ...
announced the reactivation of V Corps Headquarters. The HQ was to have approximately 635 soldiers, with approximately 200 who would support an operational command post in Europe.
Army Chief of Staff James C. McConville announced that V Corps forward headquarters would be established in Poland after 1 October 2020.
200 of the expected 630 headquarters staff members would be stationed in
Poznan on a rotational basis.
[U.S. Army V Corps Headquarters (9 September 2020) V Corps Headquarters (Forward) in Poland to be located in Poznan]
/ref>
On 7 March 2022 the V Corps main headquarters element deployed to Germany, joining the forward element already in Europe, to "provide additional command and control of U.S. Army forces in Europe." The headquarters is also tasked to "provide a more robust presence in Europe and enable the Corps to synchronize current contingency operations, support the ongoing mission to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank and coordinate multinational exercises across the continent." This deployment is in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
.
Subordinate units
* Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, United States Army Europe and Africa, Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...
* 19th Battlefield Coordination Detachment
*V Corps
* 2d Cavalry Regiment, Vilseck
Vilseck is a town in the Oberpfalz region of northeastern Bavaria, Germany, situated on the river Vils, a tributary of the Naab river.
The town is geographically separate from a nearby large American military base known as the ''Rose Barracks ...
**1st Squadron, 2d Cavalry Regiment (Infantry)
**2d Squadron, 2d Cavalry Regiment (Infantry)
**3d Squadron, 2d Cavalry Regiment (Infantry)
**4th Squadron, 2d Cavalry Regiment (RSTA
Reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition (RSTA) refers to a joint doctrine of reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition conducted by the United States Armed Forces. RSTA operations are designed to support military operation ...
)
**Field Artillery Squadron, 2d Cavalry Regiment
**Engineer Squadron, 2d Cavalry Regiment (Grafenwöhr)
**Support Squadron, 2d Cavalry Regiment
* 41st Field Artillery Brigade, Grafenwöhr
Grafenwöhr (, Northern Bavarian: ''Groafawehr'') is a town in the district of Neustadt an der Waldnaab, in the region of the Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz) in eastern Bavaria, Germany. It is widely known for the United States Army militar ...
** Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion
** 1st Battalion, 6th Field Artillery Regiment
The 6th Field Artillery Regiment is a Field Artillery Branch regiment of the United States Army first activated in 1907 from numbered companies of artillery. It was first organized with two battalions.
6th Field Artillery assigned 8 June 1917 t ...
** 1st Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment
The 77th Field Artillery Regiment is a field artillery regiment of the United States Army. First constituted 1916 in the Regular Army as a cavalry regiment. Reorganized in 1917 as field artillery and given its current designation.
History
Co ...
** 589th Brigade Support Battalion
**232d Signal Company
* 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, Ansbach
Ansbach (; ; East Franconian: ''Anschba'') is a city in the German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränkische Rezat, a ...
** 1st Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment
The 3rd Aviation Regiment is a regiment of the United States Army Aviation Branch. It operates the Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, and Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter. It has been associated with the ...
** 1st Battalion, 214th Aviation Regiment
*Southern European Task Force - Africa (SETAF-AF)
** 173rd Airborne Brigade, Vicenza
Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan.
Vicenza is a th ...
and Grafenwöhr
Grafenwöhr (, Northern Bavarian: ''Groafawehr'') is a town in the district of Neustadt an der Waldnaab, in the region of the Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz) in eastern Bavaria, Germany. It is widely known for the United States Army militar ...
*** Headquarters and Headquarters Company
*** 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment
*** 1st Battalion, 503d Infantry Regiment
*** 2nd Battalion, 503d Infantry Regiment
*** 4th Battalion, 319th Field Artillery Regiment
The 319th Field Artillery Regiment, more commonly referred to as the 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment (319th AFAR), is a parent regiment in the U.S. Army Regimental System. Four battalions of the regiment are currently active. The first ...
*** 54th Engineer Battalion
54 may refer to:
* 54 (number)
* one of the years 54 BC, AD 54, 1954, 2054
* ''54'' (novel), a 2002 novel by Wu Ming
* Studio 54, a New York City nightclub from 1977 until 1981
* ''54'' (film), a 1998 American drama film about the club
* ''54'' ...
*** 173rd Support Battalion
* 56th Artillery Command
**2d Multi Domain Task Force
*10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command
The 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command (10th AAMDC) is a theater level Army air and missile defense organization and directly subordinated to United States Army Europe. On order, the 10th AAMDC deploys worldwide to conduct joint and comb ...
** 52nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade
* 7th Army Training Command, Grafenwöhr
Grafenwöhr (, Northern Bavarian: ''Groafawehr'') is a town in the district of Neustadt an der Waldnaab, in the region of the Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz) in eastern Bavaria, Germany. It is widely known for the United States Army militar ...
**Training Support Activity Europe
**7th Army Non-Commissioned Officers Academy
**Joint Multinational Training Group Ukraine
**Joint Multinational Readiness Center, Hohenfels
***1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, Hohenfels
*** Joint Multinational Simulation Center
* 21st Sustainment Command (Theater)
** 21st SC Special Troops Battalion
**266th Financial Management Support Center
** 1st Human Resources Sustainment Center
**Theater Logistics Support Center-Europe
** 7th Mission Support Command, Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern (; Palatinate German: ''Lautre'') is a city in southwest Germany, located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate Forest. The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfur ...
- Army Reserve
*** 209th Digital Liaison Detachment
*** 2500th Digital Liaison Detachment
*** 7th Intermediate Level Education Detachment
*** Medical Support Unit-Europe
*** 361st Civil Affairs Brigade
*** 510th Regional Support Group
** 16th Sustainment Brigade
The 16th Sustainment Brigade is a sustainment brigade of the United States Army based at Smith Barracks in Baumholder, Germany. It is a subordinate unit of the 21st Theater Sustainment Command of the Seventh Army.
Activated in the summer of ...
*** 16th Sustainment Brigade Special Troops Battalion
*** 39th Transportation Battalion
*** 18th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion
** 18th Military Police Brigade
The 18th Military Police Brigade is a military police brigade of the United States Army based in Vilseck, Germany, with subordinate battalions and companies stationed throughout Germany. It provides law enforcement and force protection duties to ...
*** 709th Military Police Battalion
***15th Engineer Battalion
**30th Medical Brigade
*** 519th Hospital Center
****512th Field Hospital
*** 421st Medical Battalion
Supporting organizations
* US Army NATO Brigade
** Brigade Headquarters
** Allied Forces North Battalion
** Allied Forces South Battalion
*66th Military Intelligence Brigade
The 66th Military Intelligence Brigade ("Six-Six-M-I" and 66th MIB) is a United States Army brigade, subordinate to United States Army Intelligence and Security Command and based at Wiesbaden Army Airfield, Wiesbaden, Germany. After years of histo ...
** 2d Military Intelligence Battalion
** 24th Military Intelligence Battalion
* 207th Military Intelligence Brigade
** 522d Military Intelligence Battalion
** 307th Military Intelligence Battalion
* 2nd Signal Brigade (Theater), Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...
** 39th Strategic Signal Battalion, Chièvres Air Base
Chièvres Air Base , also referred to as SHAPE Airfield at Chievres Air Base, is a NATO airfield operated by the United States Air Force. It is located east southeast of the Walloon town of Chièvres in the province of Hainaut, Belgium and abou ...
** 44th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, Baumholder
Baumholder () is a town in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, in the Westrich, an historic region that encompasses areas in both Germany and France. The town of Baumholder is the administrative seat of the like-named ''Verb ...
** 52nd Strategic Signal Battalion, Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
** 102nd Strategic Signal Battalion, Wiesbaden
** 509th Strategic Signal Battalion, Vicenza
Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan.
Vicenza is a th ...
** 6981st Civilian Support Group, Germersheim
Germersheim () is a town in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, of around 20,000 inhabitants. It is also the seat of the Germersheim (district), Germersheim district. The neighboring towns and cities are Speyer, Landau, Philippsburg, Karlsru ...
* 405th Army Field Support Brigade
** Army Field Support Battalion, Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
** Army Field Support Battalion, Benelux
The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico-economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: B ...
** Army Field Support Battalion, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
** Army Field Support Battalion, Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...
*409th Contracting Support Brigade, Sembach
Sembach is a municipality in the district of Kaiserslautern in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It forms part of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Enkenbach-Alsenborn. The town is nestled in the Palatinate Forest Nature Park between Kaiser ...
** Theater Contracting Support Center, Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern (; Palatinate German: ''Lautre'') is a city in southwest Germany, located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate Forest. The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfur ...
** 928th Contracting Battalion, Grafenwöhr
Grafenwöhr (, Northern Bavarian: ''Groafawehr'') is a town in the district of Neustadt an der Waldnaab, in the region of the Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz) in eastern Bavaria, Germany. It is widely known for the United States Army militar ...
** Regional Contracting Office, Benelux
The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico-economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: B ...
** Regional Contracting Office, Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
** Regional Contracting Office, Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...
*598th Transportation Brigade, Sembach
Sembach is a municipality in the district of Kaiserslautern in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It forms part of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Enkenbach-Alsenborn. The town is nestled in the Palatinate Forest Nature Park between Kaiser ...
** 838th Transportation Battalion, Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern (; Palatinate German: ''Lautre'') is a city in southwest Germany, located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate Forest. The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfur ...
** 839th Transportation Battalion, Livorno
Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...
* Installation Management Command-Europe
**Europe Garrison Support Element
**US Army Garrison Stuttgart
**US Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz
**US Army Garrison Italy
**US Army Garrison Benelux
**US Army Garrison Ansbach
**US Army Garrison Bavaria
* Regional Health Command-Europe
** Landstuhl Regional Medical Center
** Medical Department Activity-Bavaria
** Public Health Command-Europe
** Dental Health Command-Europe
Commanding generals
* Commanding General, United States Army Europe
The commanding general of United States Army Europe and Africa (CG USAREUR-AF) was formerly known as the commander-in-chief of United States Army Europe (CINCUSAREUR). Prior to 8 May 1945 the official title was Commander, European Theater of O ...
See also
* List of NATO exercises
This is a list of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) exercises.
Cold War (1950–1990)
* Mainbrace - Defence of Denmark and Norway during September 1952.
** 200 ships
** over 50,000 personnel
* Exercise Grand Slam. Naval exercise in the ...
References
*
*
Further reading
* Donald A. Carter, "Forging the Shield: The U.S. Army in Europe 1951–1962".
External links
; Government
*
Lineage and Honors Information
at the U.S. Army Center of Military History
The United States Army Center of Military History (CMH) is a directorate within the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. The Institute of Heraldry remains within the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Arm ...
Archived papers of the Historical Division, HQ, U.S. Army Europe, covering various issues 1945-1990s
; General information
*
*
{{Authority control
Military units and formations established in 1947
Military units and formations of the United States in the Cold War
Organisations based in Wiesbaden
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
United States military in Germany