Scaling Down American Forces in Europe

This article, which appeared in the GAO Journal, No. 10, Fall 1990, discusses the reduction of U.S. military forces in Europe, focusing on: (1) the complex political, military, logistical, and economic issues facing policymakers before military reductions begin and while they are under way; (2) efficiently and effectively retaining a North Atlantic Treaty Organization force capable of defending Western security interests; (3) restructuring U.S. forces to reflect a new defense strategy in Eastern Europe; (4) management strategies to safely and efficiently relocate people and equipment and return real property to host nation control; and (5) the economic factors of force reductions.