US Army to pull out of 13 German bases

US LEAVES GERMAN BASES

The US Army will pull out of 13 bases in southern Germany as part of its repositioning of American forces around the world, its European headquarters in Heidelberg said.

Eleven bases in and around the Bavarian city of Wuerzburg will be handed over to the German government by September 2007. Two more bases near Wuerzburg will close and be handed over in subsequent years.

The closures are part of plans for most of the Wuerzburg-based 1st Infantry Division to return to the US in mid-2006 and plans to relocate, convert and deactivate other parts of the US Army’s 5th Corps.

The changes will affect about 6,100 soldiers and 11,000 family members as well as about 1,000 Army civilian employees and 1,000 civilians employed locally.