Pentagon set to close 15 European bases

The Pentagon is overseeing some moving and shaking for 67,000 U.S. troops stationed in Europe in response to behavior by Russia, and in an attempt to save $500 million a year by the early 2020's.

The Pentagon said today it plans to close 15 European bases. The Washington Examiner reports that The European Infrastructure Consolidation process "will better position U.S. troops... to meet challenges that have emerged in the year since Russia seized Ukraine's Crimea peninsula and menaced NATO allies in Eastern Europe."

Congress approved a $985 million account last year that will allow the Pentagon to build new infrastructure, as the Examiner puts it, "to accommodate new deployments in response to Russian moves."

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Britain will be impacted most significantly by the changes. F-35 fighters will be added to one base — a first for Europe — while the number of U.S. military and civilian personnel stationed there will be reduced by 2,000 people.