Army chief lays out Army cuts in Europe

By LOLITA C. BALDOR | The Associated Press
Published: January 27, 2012
Updated: January 27, 2012 - 12:08 PM

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WASHINGTON --

Gen. Raymond Odierno, the Army chief of staff, says the Pentagon will take two heavy armor brigades out of Europe in 2013 and 2014 and eliminate them.

Odierno says the military is working hard to mitigate the impact on European allies, and will rotate other Army units into the region to train with NATO partners.

The units will be eliminated, rather than moved back to the United States. Odierno says removing two of four brigades now in Europe will not necessarily make NATO allies shoulder more of the load if ground forces are needed for a large-scale operation in the region.

The units to be dismantled are based in Germany — the 172nd Infantry Brigade, currently in Grafenwoehr, and the 170th Infantry Brigade in Baumholder.