United States Army in Europe: Designing a New Force Structure for a New Era

摘要

The current structure of the United States Army in Europe (USARER) reflects the drawdown of the force after the end of the Cold War. It consists almost exclusively of heavy forces that are difficult to deploy and sustain, but provide excellent tactical mobility and firepower. The vast changes in the international security environment and the increasing advances in information technology since the early 1990s have invalidated many of the planning factors and assumptions that were used to construct the current force in 1990-1992. This thesis argues that USAREUR needs to be restructured with a mixture of heavy, medium, and light combat forces. This structure will allow USAREUR to accomplish any limited mission, across the entire conflict spectrum, in its area of responsibility, either with NATO allies or unilaterally, without reinforcement from forces stationed in the United States.