The Pentagon has announced it will shut down a number of military bases in Europe in order to drive down defense costs.
The United States will stop operations in a total of 15 military bases across Europe, cuts it says will lead to an annual saving of $500 million.
The United States will withdraw 3,200 troops from RAF Mildenhall, a major air base in Suffolk, Britain, by 2019. The losses will be offset by the addition of 1,200 American troops and two squadrons of F-35 fighter jets to RAF Lakenheath, a nearby airbase.
The number of U.S. military personnel at Lajes Field airbase in Portugal will also be downsized, with 500 troops withdrawn. The move has angered Portugal, which said it was a “unilateral decision” and expressed worries over the “economic and social situation on the island of Terceira”.
Approximately 64,000 troops are currently deployed across Europe, most of them in Britain, Italy and Germany. The number of troops will remain around the same following the cuts.
The decision to close military bases in Europe is partly motivated by US lawmakers’ resistance to shutting down facilities within the United States. The imminent closures also reflect the shift of focus of U.S foreign policy toward Asia.
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