With the realignment of U.S. military forces announced August 16 by President George Bush, not only the numbers but also the kinds of forces deployed internationally may change, according to senior Defense Department officials.

At an August 16 Pentagon background briefing on the president's military force realignment announcement, a senior defense official said the realignment should not be mistaken for a force reduction.

"It's not our view that this will result in a force structure reduction in any of the services. That's not what this plan is about. ... [T]his is about a realignment globally of our forces and capabilities. ... This is not a troop cut or a force structure reduction in the armed forces," the senior defense official said.

Responding to a reporter's question the senior defense official said that a "significant portion" of the total redeployment of 60,000-to-70,000 troops from abroad to the continental United States "will come from Europe. Much of that will be embedded in the return of the two heavy divisions that are in Germany. ... And yes, heavy divisions are going to return from Germany. ... But also ... it is our plan that [a] Stryker Brigade go to Germany as well ... that is more relevant to the kind of challenges that we see in Europe and beyond than are the legacy forces that are there today."

Asked whether the Stryker Brigade would be the only U.S. forces to be stationed in Germany under the realignment, the defense official noted that the U.S. Army 5th Corps will be kept there, though it too will be restructured.

"It will be made more deployable. It is being made more deployable," the defense official answered. "There are a number of operational combat elements that associated with that corps structure. ... There will be training venues in Germany that are going to be very important and which rotational forces can move. And so there will still be a very substantial ground presence in Germany when this is done." None of this will happen in Germany, said the official, until fiscal year 2006 "at the earliest."

The official also emphasized that Germany is just part of the European theater defense planners are considering.

"Remember in Europe we have added a battalion to the 173rd Brigade in Vicenza," Italy, the senior defense official said. We are going to round out that brigade with three battalions. You've got two F-16 squadrons in Aviano," Italy. The official noted that the 173rd Brigade forms part of the Southeast Task Force, which he described as "a significant combat punch in that part of the world."

Turning to Turkey, the defense official said "no firm decisions" have been made. He said there are two F-16 fighter jet squadrons in Spangdahlem, Germany, and "for the moment, that's where they're going to stay, notwithstanding continuing dialogue with the Turks on perhaps more flexible use, shall we say, of Incirlik."

In response to a question about Guam's future role, the senior defense official said that Guam "is an area where we already have moved considerable capability," including nuclear submarines based there, as well as B-52 bombers on a rotational basis and occasional B-2 bombers as well. Guam's Anderson Air Force Base "is quite an installation in an advantageous part of the Pacific," he said.

As for Australia, a senior State Department official who also took part in the briefing said, "While there will not be any permanent basing of U.S. forces in Australia, it appears very likely that Australia will welcome the opportunity to serve as an important location for training of a number of friendly forces...."

In Korea, the senior defense official said, "you're going to see a consolidation of the troops further to the south ... which makes them much more effective and a more credible fighting component than they have right now, where ... they're more vulnerable. He added that the United States is "in very close and careful consultation with both Korea and Japan. I would rather not today go further than that. ... We have a number of proposals that we're working on with the Japanese government right now...."

Trying to put the whole picture into perspective, the senior defense official noted, "There are only 230 major U.S. military bases in the world, 202 of which are in the United States and its territories. But there are 5,458 distinct and discrete military installations around the world, and ... many of them are 100 acres or less." He termed these small installations a legacy from the Cold War. "We don't need those little pieces of property anymore," he said.