Troops to begin Romania, Bulgaria basing

WASHINGTON, May 18 (UPI) -- The U.S. military will test new bases in Eastern Europe for the first time this summer.

The move is part of a new strategy to put troops closer to areas of potential conflict.

Gen. Bantz Craddock, U.S. European commander, said he expects several hundred troops to rotate through forward bases in Romania and Bulgaria this summer, and if construction contracts are awarded and implementation agreements arrived at on schedule, he expects the bases to be in use by the end of 2008.

That will depend on the pace of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, which are currently engaging large numbers of forces assigned to U.S. European Command.

The bases are part of an ambitious plan to shift EUCOM's fighting brigades from western Europe -- mostly Germany -- to forward bases closer to the Caucasus, the Balkans, the Middle East and Africa, for a quicker strike capability.

It is also meant to shore up and reward the newest members of NATO, former Soviet-bloc nations that are eager to deepen ties with the United States and its military.

Romania allowed the U.S. military to use their territory in the 2002 build-up that preceded the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

"When this rebasing process is complete, two-thirds of USAREUR's maneuver forces will be positioned in southern and eastern Europe," Craddock told the U.S. Senate in written testimony.

USEUCOM has requested $73.6 million to build out Mikhail Kogalniceanu Air Base, Romania, and to establish a forward operating station in Bulgaria.