{"id":46183,"date":"2020-09-14T18:14:46","date_gmt":"2020-09-14T18:14:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/09\/14\/us-air-force-exit-from-germany-going-to-take-some-time-top-general-says\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:40:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:40:08","slug":"us-air-force-exit-from-germany-going-to-take-some-time-top-general-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2020\/09\/14\/us-air-force-exit-from-germany-going-to-take-some-time-top-general-says\/","title":{"rendered":"US Air Force exit from Germany \u2018going to take some time,’ top general says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 As the U.S. Air Force considers how to follow orders to move assets away from Germany<\/a>, the head of U.S. Air Forces Europe is pledging a \u201cdeliberate\u201d plan that includes transparency for both European allies and the military members involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian told reporters Monday that his team is still in the \u201cplanning stages\u201d of the expected move<\/a>, saying “we\u2019re going to be deliberate about this. We want to make sure we get it right, such that there\u2019s no impact to our ability to deliver the mission while we would be in transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs we work through this, we want to make sure that we\u2019ve got the appropriate facts understood and want to make sure that we remain closely aligned with our host-nation partners. keep them informed, remain transparent about all this, and acknowledge the fact that this is going to take some time,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here for the latest news from this year\u2019s Air Force Association conference.<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a July 29 announcement, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper announced the drawdown of almost 12,000 troops from Germany, along with the shifting of significant infrastructure. Under the plan, it is expected that one F-16 squadron, the 480th Fighter Squadron, would transfer from Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany <\/a>to Aviano Air Base in Italy, which already hosts two F-16 squadrons. Meanwhile, KC-135 tankers from the 100th Air Refueling Wing and CV-22 Ospreys operated by the 352nd Special Operations Wing would remain at RAF Mildenhall, England, instead of transferring to Spangdahlem, as had previously been planned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Pentagon leaders such as Esper have cast the force movement as something designed to create a more flexible posture in Europe, critics have pointed to comments from President Donald Trump stating that the move is happening as political punishment<\/a> for Berlin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his comments, Harrigian indicated that the planning for any potential shift is in the early days, with planners working out the details \u2014 with a focus on making sure there is no impact on operational capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\t