Washington - As part of the ongoing restructuring of U.S. military forces in Europe, the Pentagon has announced it will cease operations at four locations in Babenhausen and Aschaffenburg, Germany, by the end of 2006.

Aschaffenburg Family Housing, Aschaffenburg Training Area, Babenhausen Kaserne and Babenhausen Family Housing will be inactivated and returned to Germany, according to an August 23 Defense Department news release.

The announced closings in Germany will save more than $9 million annually. They are part of a broader transformation of U.S. forces in Europe and around the globe that is expected to save almost $50 billion over two decades. (See related article.)

The move is expected to affect 21 U.S. service members, 44 U.S. civilian employees of the Defense Department, and 20 host-nation employees, according to the department.

In August 2004, President Bush announced a restructuring plan for U.S. military forces and said that over the next 10 years, 60,000 to 70,000 troops and approximately 100,000 family members and civilian employees would be brought back to the United States from military facilities in Europe and Asia.  Others will be redeployed "to new locations so they can surge quickly to deal with unexpected threats," Bush said.  Throughout the implementation of the force realignment, the United States will continue to maintain a significant overseas presence.  (See related article.)

Babenhausen and Aschaffenburg are in south central Germany.

Additional information about military transformation is available on the Defense Department’s Web site.

For more information about U.S. policy, see International Security.