A History Of U.s. Military Forces In Germany by Daniel J. Nelson

Author:Daniel J. Nelson [Nelson, Daniel J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Europe, Germany, Military, United States, Political Science, General
ISBN: 9780429721878
Google: q3ekDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2019-04-08T17:45:09+00:00

Early German Perceptions of the AVF

By the end of 1972 the Germans also seemed increasingly worried about the possible results of the American transition from the conscription army to the all volunteer force, a move now well underway. In December data released by USAREUR Headquarters showed that 77% of the soldiers stationed in Europe were volunteers. Since the last draft calls were to go out in late 1972 the transition to the AVF would be largely complete by 1973. In an effort to placate fears widely expressed in the German press, Supreme Commander Michael Davison held a press conference in late December. The effectiveness of the U.S. forces, he said, would be enhanced by an increase in the quality of the volunteers which would be obtained by the new pay scales for military personnel fully competitive with pay scales in the civilian sector. He assured reporters that there would be no diminution of the number of U.S. forces stationed in Europe.56 The timing for these assurances was perhaps not the best, since army headquarters released new statistics on drug abuse among troops in Europe a few days later. Though statistics issued by USAREUR had little credibility in the eyes of the German press and were thought vastly to underestimate the extent of real drug usage in the American military, even the army’s own figures showed an alarming increase in the use of hard drugs during the past year. Matters were not improved by the army’s effort to soften the conclusions with the explanation that some of the increased usage could be accounted for by improved detection and testing techniques. And there was a hollow ring to General Davison’s insistence that the drug situation in Europe bore no relation to the problem in Vietnam because “the two situations cannot be compared.”57

The Germans felt they had good reason to be worried about the implications of the switch to an all volunteer force, given the concern expressed in the German press about high rates of crime among American troops in general and black troops in particular. U.S. Government figures also showed that the percentage of blacks in the enlisted ranks of the U.S. forces as a whole had increased from 11.0% to 12.6% between 1970 and 1972, and in the army from 13.5% to 17.0%.58 Throughout the year concern had been expressed by government officials and the German press that the switch to an all volunteer force would also inevitably lead to a diminution of the American military presence in Germany and hence of the American security guarantee. The Germans widely suspected that a slow, but prolonged and insidious withdrawal of American forces had been taking place for some time. Disagreements surfaced from time to time between American and German authorities about the numerical strength of American forces. In August, for example, reports circulated that although the Americans stuck by their official figure of 215, 000 troops stationed in Germany, certain informed German experts had ascertained that the true figure was approximately 200, 000.

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