Posted on 07/01/2005 3:09:54 PM PDT by SandRat
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, June 30, 2005) – Germany showed its commitment to the U.S. Army when its embassy officials presented the nation’s second-highest service award June 29 to an American general.
German Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger presented Gen. Kevin P. Byrnes, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command’s commanding general, with the Federal Republic of Germany’s Knight Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit at a ceremony. The award was presented to Byrnes on behalf of Germany’s Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.
“We are truly thankful for his personal commitment, which was the driving force of intensified positive military relations between the United States of America and Germany,” said Col. Heinz Feldmann, Army attaché to the German embassy.
Byrnes, who assumed the duties of TRADOC commander in 2002, works with the German Army Liaison Organization, also located at Fort Monroe, Va.
Feldman said that over the past few years, joint projects initiated and supported by Byrnes enabled them to reach a level of comprehensive bi-lateral cooperation that is of paramount importance to the German Army and “a strong pillar of the transatlantic bridge.”
“In times that were difficult for both armies, he proved to be a true friend by appreciating Germany’s points of view, and maintaining a high level of mutual relations. Inspiring fresh initiatives with a professional touch, he focused on maintaining and improving interoperability between our forces,” Feldmann said.
“This impacts our Army because it underscores the continuing strong cooperation and mutual support between the German and American armies,” Byrnes said.
Byrnes stressed that the two armies have been together for a very long time supporting past missions associated with the Cold War, and will continue to take on future missions together in a post-Cold War era.
“The future is about multinational operations. We need to focus on training, leadership development and command and control,” he added.
He explained both armies work together everyday, and although the mutual cooperation is not prominent in the press, it is the expectation of American and German citizens.
“We should all be proud of the work accomplished behind the scenes. We show that in times of conflict, we can work together to accomplish the mission and secure our citizens’ privileges,” Byrnes said.
Feldman said, “We’re fighting the war on terrorism with America too – our Soldiers total 2,000 in Afghanistan. It’s paramount that Germany has the support of and access to the U.S. Army.”
Hubertus von Puttkamer, rear admiral defense attaché, said personal contact is essential to good relations with a country.
“Many people here have relatives or friends in Germany. Those personal connections unite us,” von Puttkamer said. “The bonds between Germany and America are very strong.
“Our friendship is a reflection of the heart, which is more important than the brain - we will continue to express our heartfelt loyalty to one another.”
ping
Too little, too late, we're still closing most of our German bases.
Looks like some people just realized that something like 15-25% of the German economy depends on the US bases, either directly or indirectly.
Oh, yeah. Now that we announce we are pulling many of our bases out the Germans are thinking twice about how "nice" ( read $$$$ ) we are. especially since the Iraqi Oil for Food scam isn't bringing in any money.
Ha. Ha.
Bingo!
Bingo!
But wait, what's the timeline for pulling out of Germany? It's only been about 60 years.
German Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger presented Gen. Kevin P. Byrnes, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command’s commanding general, with the Federal Republic of Germany’s Knight Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit at a ceremony. The award was presented to Byrnes on behalf of Germany’s Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.
But Schroeder himself said that NATO was a thing of the past, and must give way to new structures of relationship. Germans may have once been believers in the transatlantic relationship, but certainly have not been under the Schroeder/Fischer gov't.
So, this means how many German divisions are headed to Iraq to fight along side of their "ally?"
Source please. I find that an incredulous statement. Germany has the world's third largest economy with a $1.8 trillion GDP. It is the world's second largest exporter. How can approximately 100,000 American troops plus their families in a nation of 82 million account for 15-25% of their economy?
DOD says that the Germans receive about $6 *Billion* per year from the US military., through contracting, rent, services, etc., etc. You can check the DOD website (I'm not going to try to use their dysfunctional search engine) for info. That's the direct part.
There was a recent study by some German federal bureau that put the economic dependency on US bases at 17%. Others quote higher or lower. I'm not going to try to navigate the German web system to try to find that again - German is my sixth language and I'm not that great with it. The report is out there.
"Feldman said, “We’re fighting the war on terrorism with America too – our Soldiers total 2,000 in Afghanistan. It’s paramount that Germany has the support of and access to the U.S. Army.”
This is a tiny number of soldiers for a 1st world, rich, industrialized nation that aspires to Security Council status. I believe Germany also has a small number of troops committed to the Balkins, but that is all the deployments I can think of.
I just don't see how Germany is ready for the big time.
i bet money the 17% number is the number of businesses either directly or indirectly IMPACTED by the US presence, whether that impacton a per-business basis be the price of a weinerschnitzel or 50% of said business' revenues.
They are not as you so correctly observed. I just wish they would quit bashing our American President and troops. Their Der Spiegel dumps on Bush constantly. Bush's favorable ratings are in the teens in Germany. Thanks in large part to the Schroeder government and their socialist media.
It also is not necessarily what we provide to the GNP, but how much Germany would be left to do on its own, defensively, that probably contributes to the high percentage. They may have a very strong economy, but we provide the defenses for that economy. They would have to spend a lot more of the GNP (non-government, not that government creates instead of eats GNP), on national defense.
You may be right at that - as I said, my German isn't all that great. That said, I don't think anyone can deny that the US bases are an important component of the German domestic economy.
And what percentage is $6 billion of a $1,846 trillion economy? It is miniscule.
There was a recent study by some German federal bureau that put the economic dependency on US bases at 17%. Others quote higher or lower. I'm not going to try to navigate the German web system to try to find that again - German is my sixth language and I'm not that great with it. The report is out there.
That could possibly be true for some of the communities adjacent to these bases, but that in no way impacts the German economy to that extent. Again, Germany is the world's third largest economy with a population of 82 million people. It is preposterous to suggest that the US military accounts for 15% to 25% of the total economy. Get real.
The Germans have a large economy, but not necessarily a strong one with double digit unemployment and low growth. Germany's problem is an aging, declining population that must cope with a social welfare system it can't afford. Also, the Germans have to deal with the massive expenditures necessary to bring the former East Germany up to the level of West Germany, which still hasn't been done.
The Germans have chosen butter over guns in order to stay afloat. Fortunately, with the demise of the Soviet Union, Germany and the rest of Europe have no real military threat. As a result, their expenditures on defense are declining as is the size of the military.
The US spends more on defense than the rest of NATO combined. I agree that it is time to get the rest of the world off of security welfare provided by the US.
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