United States Army Europe and Africa
[1] During the Cold War, it supervised ground formations primarily focused upon the Warsaw Pact to the east as part of NATO's Central Army Group.In Frankfurt the staff was co-located with the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces and the Office of Military Government, United States.ETOUSA was redesignated Headquarters, United States Forces European Theater (HQ USFET) on 1 July 1945, remaining in Frankfurt.Within a year rapid redeployments had brought the occupation forces down to fewer than 290,000 personnel, and many of the larger formations had departed or been inactivated.Even though Allied forces in the city were outnumbered 50–1, General Lucius D. Clay, in charge of the US Occupation Zone in Germany, gave the order for the Berlin Airlift.Due to President Truman's 10 December 1950 Declaration of a National Emergency as a result of circumstances in the Korean War, four CONUS based U.S. Army divisions were alerted to move to the U.S.A main concern was possible Soviet attempts to "take advantage" due to their numerical superiority in Germany during the Korean War.As Cold War tensions continued to escalate in 1952, General Williston B. Palmer commanding the 2nd Armored Division[9] authorized the founding of the Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra in Vaihingen-Stuttgart under the direction of Samuel Adler in support of U.S. cultural diplomacy throughout Europe.The headquarters, commanded by Maj. Gen. John H. Michaelis, was temporarily established at Camp Darby, near Livorno, Italy with units additionally stationed in Vicenza and Verona.Task Force 201, the Army component of Operation Blue Bat rapidly deployed more than 8,000 Soldiers from Europe to Beirut by air and sea.Berlin posed an additional problem; it was surrounded by East Germany, but Great Britain, France, the United States, and the Soviet Union all occupied sectors in the city.[13] The nuclear armed USAREUR did not go to DEFCON 3 during 22 Oct to 20 November 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis due to political reasons.Equipment modernization programs during this period included the M113 armored personnel carrier, the M14 rifle, the M60 machine gun, the OV-1 fixed wing observation aircraft, the UH-1B Huey helicopter, the M151 MUTT truck, and the M60 Patton tank.In late 1963 Operation BIG LIFT tested the use of prepositioned equipment through redeployment of the 2nd Armored Division to Europe via a single airlift.The communications zone headquarters moved from Orleans, France, to Worms, Germany, (and later to Kaiserslautern, where as 21st Theater Support Command it remains today).On 15 September 1981, an assassination attempt was made on USAREUR commander Gen. Frederick J. Kroesen and his wife as they were driving through Heidelberg—the automobile trunk lid deflected the RPG-7 anti-tank projectile.The dramatic events of the late 1980s – the opening of the Berlin Wall, German reunification, and the collapse of the Soviet Union – combined to change USAREUR again.These were quickly followed by intelligence specialists, chemical warfare experts, logistical personnel, many individual replacements, and finally almost the entire VII Corps.When the war ended, many USAREUR soldiers remained to complete the logistical cleanup; others were deployed to northern Iraq or Turkey as part of Operation Provide Comfort to aid refugees.The command was engaged in humanitarian support operations, to include disaster relief and rescue and recovery, peacekeeping and non-combatant evacuations.Conflict in the Balkans quickly became one of the United States Department of Defense's primary areas of focus, and peace enforcement in Bosnia was a harbinger of future military operations.Throughout 1993–1995, USAREUR's 5th Quartermaster Company, in conjunction with United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), delivered humanitarian aid to the region.One major barrier to the deployment of the 1st Armored Division was the bridge over the Sava River, which was destroyed during the four-year civil war.IFOR was succeeded in December 1996 by a smaller, NATO-led Stabilisation Force (SFOR) (Operation Joint Guard) whose mission was to deter renewed hostilities.On 20 June 1998 the mission was renamed Operation Joint Forge, with USAREUR continuing to serve as the supervising Army Service Component Command.800 Soldiers, has the lead for Multinational Battle Group East (MNBG-E) in the eastern region, headquartered near Uroševac at Camp Bondsteel as part of KFOR.With parts of 1st Infantry Division also deployed in Iraq, and others on peacekeeping duties in the Balkans, Seventh Army was virtually stripped of combat formations.Army Chief of Staff James C. McConville announced that V Corps forward headquarters would be established in Poland after 1 October 2020.The headquarters is also tasked to "provide a more robust presence in Europe and enable the Corps to synchronize current contingency operations, support the ongoing mission to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank and coordinate multinational exercises across the continent."
Seventh United States ArmyUnited States Africa CommandUnited States European CommandShoulder Sleeve InsigniaUnited StatesArmy Service Component CommandTheaterHeadquartersDepartment of the ArmyEuropean CommandAfrica CommandLucius D. Clay KaserneGermanyCampaignsWorld War IISicilyRome-ArnoNorthern FranceSouthern FrancearrowheadRhinelandArdennes-AlsaceCentral EuropeCommanding GeneralChristopher T. DonahueSean BernabeCommand Sergeant MajorDistinctive unit insigniaCombat service identification badgeNATO Map SymbolArmy Service Component Command (ASCC)United States ArmyU.S. European Command (EUCOM)U.S. Africa Commandarea of responsibilityCold WarWarsaw PactCentral Army Grouprevolutions of 1989Gulf Wars2003 invasion of IraqKosovo WarWar in Afghanistan (2001–2021)United States Army AfricaEuropean Theater of Operations, United States ArmyEuropean theatre of World War IIU.S. Army Ground ForcesU.S. Army Air ForcesU.S. Army Service ForcesMediterraneanMediterranean Theater of OperationsVersaillesOffice of Military Government, United StatesSeventhFifteenthUnited States ConstabularyBamberg508th Airborne1st Infantry Division351st Infantry RegimentTrieste United States TroopsCENTAG wartime structure in 1989United States Forces, European TheaterCampbell BarracksU.S. Air Forces EuropeBerlin BlockadeBerlin AirliftWiesbaden Army AirfieldVaihingenVII Corps4th Infantry Division2nd Armored Division28th Infantry DivisionsFrankfurtMatthew B. RidgwayThomas T. HandyWilliston B. PalmerSeventh Army Symphony OrchestraSamuel Adlercultural diplomacyM48 tankM59 armored personnel carrierSouthern Europe Task ForceJohn H. MichaelisOperation Blue BatFederal Republic of GermanyGerman Democratic RepublicBerlin Wall18th Infantry RegimentCuban Missile CrisisM113 armored personnel carrierM14 rifleM60 machine gunOV-1 fixed wing observation aircraftUH-1B Huey helicopterM151 MUTTM60 PattonNATO Military Command StructureGiessenREFORGER21st Theater Sustainment Command (TSC)M16A1 rifleTOW anti-tank weaponOH-58 KiowaAH-1G Cobra helicopterRed Army FactionRed BrigadesFrederick J. KroesenSpecialistEdward PimentalWiesbadenRhein-Main Air BaseM1A1 Abrams tankBradleyMultiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS)MIM-104 PatriotUH-60 Black HawkAH-64A ApacheGerman reunificationSoviet Union56th Field Artillery Command12th Aviation BrigadeCH-47 ChinookOperation Provide ComfortGulf WarUnited States Department of Defense