Norman D. Dicks: “first of all, I think this would be a very major mistake on the part of our country to reduce by 75 percent our force…”

“first of all, I think this would be a very major mistake on the part of our country to reduce by 75 percent our force structure in Europe. The reason we are in Europe is because it is in our national security interests to be in Europe. I believe the force structure we have there adds to stability in the area. I would like to mention a few reasons why the Department of Defense opposes this. The proposed legislation is contrary to current guidance articulated in the national security strategy and force level recommendations in the 1997 Quadrennial Defense Review. The 1997 National Military Strategy states that current force structure and overseas presence posture are the minimum, minimum, force capabilities required to execute military responsibilities. Without detailed analysis of current and future requirements, it is impossible to determine if the existing force structure is adequate to accomplish our task. There is also a possibility that such a study may recommend force reductions based on changes in priorities and objectives. The current U.S. overseas presence posture in Europe serves a number of critical concerns. First of all, as I mentioned, is regional stability.”