United States Army Europe and Africa
![]() | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (May 2020) |
United States Army Europe and Africa | |
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Shoulder Sleeve Insignia | |
Active | 1947–present |
Country | ![]() |
Branch | ![]() |
Type | Army Service Component Command/Theater Army |
Role | Headquarters |
Part of | |
Garrison/HQ | Lucius D. Clay Kaserne, Germany |
Motto(s) | Sword of Freedom |
Colors | White and red |
Campaigns | World War II
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Website | www |
Commanders | |
Combat service identification badge | ![]() |
NATO Map Symbol (1997) | ![]() ![]() |
United States Army Europe and Africa (USAREUR-AF) is an Army Service Component Command (ASCC) /Theater Army responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) and U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) area of responsibility.[2]
During the
In 2020, the Army announced that
History
World War II
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The
When the war ended in Europe on 8 May 1945, the ETOUSA headquarters was located in Versailles, France, just outside Paris.[5] 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. 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 (
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
From c.1947 to 1954, the 351st Infantry Regiment served as the main body of Trieste United States Troops, on the border of Yugoslavia.
Cold War
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On 15 March 1947,
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 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
The
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. 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 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
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
On 15 July 1958 USAREUR forces were ordered to assist the Lebanese government. Task Force 201, the Army component of
Although the Korean War – open East–West conflict – had ended, political tensions remained high in Europe. Particularly troublesome was the impasse over the
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, 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 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 the reinforced 1st Battle Group, 18th Infantry Regiment, to Berlin to strengthen the existing garrison (2nd and 3rd Battle Groups, 6th Infantry).[14] The nuclear armed USAREUR did not go to DEFCON 3 during 22 Oct to 20 November 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis due to political reasons. Almost all other US Forces worldwide were at DEFCON 3 per JFK's 22 October speech and direction to the Pentagon.
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
In 1966, France withdrew from the
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
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
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
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 and the Red Brigades 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, 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.
On 15 September 1981, an assassination attempt was made on USAREUR commander Gen.
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
In January 1967, in accordance with Headquarters
Changes of the 1990s
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The dramatic events of the late 1980s – the opening of the
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
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 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 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 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
In June 1993, the command formed Task Force Able Sentry in the
In
Despite melting snow that flooded the river and later, freezing temperatures, the bridge was completed on 31 December and the first
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 (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. 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 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 units, with a different state taking over the lead for each rotation of approximately nine months.
Twenty-first century
The
The U.S. Army's reorganization plans from 2005 called for the formation's major subordinate units –
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
Two bases at
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.[15] [16][17] 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.[19] 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, was inactivated and redesignated the 7th Civil Support Command (CSC). In September 2015 the 7th CSC became the 7th Mission Support Command.[20]
On 26 January 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
In a ceremony on 12 June 2013, V Corps was awarded the
V Corps reactivated and the Russian invasion of Ukraine
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On 11 February 2020, the
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
Organization 2023
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Major subordinate commands
The following units are assigned to United States Army Europe and Africa:[31]
United States Army Europe and Africa, in Wiesbaden (Germany)
- Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, US Army Europe and Africa, in Wiesbaden (Germany)
- V Corps, in Poznań (Poland)
- US Army Southern European Task Force, Africa, in Vicenza (Italy)
- 56th Artillery Command, in Mainz-Kastel (Germany)
- 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, in Sembach (Germany)
- 7th Army Training Command, in Grafenwöhr (Germany)
- 21st Theater Sustainment Command, Kaiserslautern (Germany)
- US Army NATO Brigade, in Sembach (Germany)
- 19th Battlefield Coordination Detachment, at Ramstein Air Base (Germany)
- US Army Europe and Africa Band and Chorus, in Sembach (Germany)
- US Army Flight Operations Detachment, in Wiesbaden
Supporting organizations
The following units of other US Army commands provide support to United States Army Europe and Africa:[31]
- US Army Intelligence and Security Command
- 66th Military Intelligence Brigade, in Wiesbaden
- Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command
- 598th Transportation Brigade, in Sembach[32]
- 838th Transportation Battalion, in Kaiserslautern
- 839th Transportation Battalion, in Livorno (Italy)
- 598th Transportation Brigade, in Sembach[32]
- US Army Medical Command
- Medical Readiness Command, Europe, in Sembach[34]
- Landstuhl Regional Medical Center
- SHAPE Healthcare Facility
- US Army Health Clinic Ansbach
- US Army Health Clinic Baumholder
- US Army Health Clinic Brussels
- US Army Health Clinic Grafenwöhr
- US Army Health Clinic Hohenfels
- US Army Health Clinic Kaiserslautern
- US Army Health Clinic Stuttgart
- US Army Health Clinic Vicenza
- US Army Health Clinic Vilseck
- US Army Health Clinic Wiesbaden
- Medical Readiness Command, Europe, in Sembach[34]
- US Army Medical Logistics Command
- US Army Medical Materiel Center, Europe, in Kaiserslautern
- United States Army Criminal Investigation Division
- 5th Military Police Battalion (CID), in Kaiserslautern
Commanding generals
- Commanding General, United States Army Europe
Notable personnel
- Paul D. Phillips, worked in the civil affairs division (1952-1954); former oldest living West Point graduate, retired as a Brigadier General.[35][36]
See also
References
- ^ "Command Sgt. Maj. Jeremiah E. Inman". Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
- ^ "The U.S. Army Command Structure". US Army. Archived from the original on 8 July 2003. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ Lucas, Ryan (1 October 2020). "Army Consolidating Europe, Africa Commands". Association of the United States Army. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
- ^ "U.S. Army Europe and Africa Commands consolidate". Army.mil. 20 November 2020. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
- ^ a b c USAREUR 2014.
- ^ Reorganization of Tactical Forces in Post-war Germany Archived 15 October 2022 at the Wayback Machine, accessed October 2022.
- ^ a b Frederiksen 1953, p. 32.
- ^ "United States Army, Europe & Seventh Army". Archived from the original on 27 August 2017.
- ^ a b "USAREUR Units & Kasernes, 1945 – 1989". Usarmygermany.com. Archived from the original on 27 August 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
- ^ "7th Army Symphony Chronology – General Palmer authorizes Samuel Adler to found the orchestra in 1952 on 7aso.org". Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
- ISBN 9780810884014. Archived from the originalon 8 May 2023.
- ^ Army – "Musical Ambassadors, Soldiers Too" James I. Kenner. Editor Lt. General Walter L. Weible. Association of the United States Army Vol 9. No. 1 August 1958 p. 60-62 – Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra Archived 6 April 2023 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ ""7th Army Symphony Draws Praise" (Samuel Adler and Army Commendation Ribbon with Metal Pendant) on 7aso.org". Archived from the original on 19 September 2018. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
- ^ Hackworth & Sherman 1989, pp. 378–379, 384.
- ^ a b "Designation of the United States Army Europe as an army service component command" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2013.
- ^ a b "Instructions for Re-writing Army Regulation 10-87" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2013.
- ^ a b "Army Regulation 10-87" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 January 2012.
- ^ See Michael Knights, 'US regional commands diversify across the 'arc of instability,' Jane's Intelligence Review, September 2005, 23.
- ^ Mark St.Clair, and John Vandiver, Name changes set for 2 Germany-based units, Stars and Stripes, Friday, 7 March 2008
- ^ "The Official Home Page of the 7th Mission Support Command". www.eur.army.mil. Archived from the original on 26 January 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
- ^ Beardsley, Steven; Svan, Jennifer H. (26 January 2012). "DOD plan indicates 172nd and 170th infantry brigades to be eliminated". Stars and Stripes. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
- ^ "Thousands of soldiers to leave Europe". Army Times. 1 March 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
- ^ "European Posture Changes" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
- ^ "V Corps inactivates after nearly a century of service to U.S. Army". Eur.army.mil. Archived from the original on 20 June 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2013.
- ^ Verlagsgruppe Rhein Main GmbH & Co. KG. "V. Korps der US-Armee zieht für ein Jahr nach Afghanistan und wird dann aufgelöst – Wiesbadener Kurier".[permanent dead link]
- ^ Stars and Stripes: "US Army's last tanks depart from Germany" By John Vandiver Archived 28 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine 4 April 2013 |"There is no [U.S.] tank on German soil. It's a historic moment."
- ^ a b Rempfer, Kyle (5 August 2020). "Army's resurrected V Corps will go to Poland". Army Times. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
- ^ "US Army names head of V Corps HQ to be based in Poland". ABC News. The Associated Press. 4 August 2020. Archived from the original on 8 August 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
- ^ "U.S. Army V Corps Headquarters (9 September 2020) V Corps Headquarters (Forward) in Poland to be located in Poznan". Archived from the original on 24 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
- ^ Pilgrim, Eric. "Hundreds of V Corps Soldiers depart for Germany in support of NATO allies". army.mil. Archived from the original on 12 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
- ^ a b "U.S. Army Europe and Africa Units". US Army Europe and Africa. Archived from the original on 2 May 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
- ^ "598th Transportation Brigade". Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command. Archived from the original on 2 May 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
- ^ "Installation Management Command – Europe". Installation Management Command – Europe. Archived from the original on 2 May 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
- ^ "Army Medical Treatment Facilities". Medical Readiness Command, Europe. Archived from the original on 2 May 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
- ^ "WPAOG Recognizes BG(R) Paul D. Phillips '40 as the Newest Oldest Living West Point Graduate". Archived from the original on 17 October 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
- ^ "Official register of the officers and cadets. 1971 (page 484)". Archived from the original on 17 October 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
- Frederiksen, Oliver J. (1953). The American Military Occupation of Germany 1945 – 1953. Darmstadt: Historical Division, United States Army Europe.
- Hackworth, David; Sherman, Julie (1989). About face: The odyssey of an American warrior. New York: Touchstone. ISBN 0-671-69534-7..
- USAREUR (4 April 2014). "United States Army Europe: History". Archived from the original on 4 April 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
Further reading
- Donald A. Carter, "Forging the Shield: The U.S. Army in Europe 1951–1962".
External links
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