DPA/German News, WASHINGTON: The US Defence Department has proposed removing two army divisions from Germany in a global restructuring of US forces, The New York Times reported Friday.
Quoting US and allied officials, the Times said the 1st Armoured Division and 1st Infantry Division would be returned to the United States.
A division usually consists of three brigades and can have 20,000 troops. Both the German divisions have two brigades in Germany and one in the United States.
A report by The Washington Post in March said the US military was planning to withdraw up to half its 71,000 troops in Germany.
The plan outlined in the Times would also move a brigade of light-armoured vehicles to Germany, a wing of F-16 fighter jets from Germany to Turkey and the US Navy's headquarters in Europe from Britain to Italy.
The plan is not yet final, but major decisions on the restructuring was expected to be made in a month or two, officials told the newspaper.
The restructuring proposed by Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is aimed at making the US military more flexible in responding to threats around the globe. The plans envision US forces being moved from Western Europe, now that the Cold War over, to southeastern Europe and closer to the Middle East.
