MorningSong
5th March 2013, 16:23
Saw this on breakingnews.com, where the title was:
" About 16,000 Troops and their families will be moved back to the UK over the next 5 Years"
Army bases to shut ahead of Germany troop withdrawal
5 March 2013 Last updated at 15:14 GMT
Four Army bases are to close as part of a shake-up to accommodate thousands of troops returning from Germany.
Claro Barracks in North Yorkshire, Howe in Kent, Craigiehall in Edinburgh and Cawdor in Pembrokeshire will be shut.
Parts of Edinburgh's Redford, Forthside in Stirling and Copthorne in Shropshire will also close.
Returning forces will be stationed around seven sites, including Salisbury Plain, Edinburgh and Leuchars, Catterick and Colchester.
There has been a British army presence in Germany for nearly 70 years.
Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said the return of troops from Germany marked the end of an era, and thanked the German government and people for their "material and moral" support.
'Fair share'
He said the changes would save £240m a year in running costs as soldiers are moved into "clusters" in key locations, and the re-organisation bill would be £1.8bn.
Around £1bn of the funding will go towards 1,900 new houses for service families and accommodation for 7,800 single soldiers. Another £800m will be spent on infrastructure and refurbishment of bases.
BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Beale says the figures are open to debate.
"He says the MoD will spend almost £2bn on the move - much of that money on new service accommodation. To counter that cost he says leaving Germany will save around £240m a year," he said.
"Labour's already asking questions about the speed of the move and whether it's been properly funded."
Far fewer than originally anticipated of the returning troops will be based in Scotland, Mr Hammond confirmed - but he insisted Scotland would still have "a little bit more than its fair share" of military personnel based on the size of its population.
The overall number of troops in Wales and Northern Ireland will fall by 400.
Under the 2010 strategic defence review, the government announced it wanted to withdraw all 20,000 troops in Germany, plus their families, by 2020.
Since then, 4,000 troops have already moved back to the UK.
Around 11,000 troops will return home by 2016 and the remaining 4,500 troops will be back in the UK by 2019, a year earlier than planned.
The pull-out has been accelerated because there were bigger cuts to the Army than originally planned, saving money which could be used for the relocation.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21665240
" About 16,000 Troops and their families will be moved back to the UK over the next 5 Years"
Army bases to shut ahead of Germany troop withdrawal
5 March 2013 Last updated at 15:14 GMT
Four Army bases are to close as part of a shake-up to accommodate thousands of troops returning from Germany.
Claro Barracks in North Yorkshire, Howe in Kent, Craigiehall in Edinburgh and Cawdor in Pembrokeshire will be shut.
Parts of Edinburgh's Redford, Forthside in Stirling and Copthorne in Shropshire will also close.
Returning forces will be stationed around seven sites, including Salisbury Plain, Edinburgh and Leuchars, Catterick and Colchester.
There has been a British army presence in Germany for nearly 70 years.
Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said the return of troops from Germany marked the end of an era, and thanked the German government and people for their "material and moral" support.
'Fair share'
He said the changes would save £240m a year in running costs as soldiers are moved into "clusters" in key locations, and the re-organisation bill would be £1.8bn.
Around £1bn of the funding will go towards 1,900 new houses for service families and accommodation for 7,800 single soldiers. Another £800m will be spent on infrastructure and refurbishment of bases.
BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Beale says the figures are open to debate.
"He says the MoD will spend almost £2bn on the move - much of that money on new service accommodation. To counter that cost he says leaving Germany will save around £240m a year," he said.
"Labour's already asking questions about the speed of the move and whether it's been properly funded."
Far fewer than originally anticipated of the returning troops will be based in Scotland, Mr Hammond confirmed - but he insisted Scotland would still have "a little bit more than its fair share" of military personnel based on the size of its population.
The overall number of troops in Wales and Northern Ireland will fall by 400.
Under the 2010 strategic defence review, the government announced it wanted to withdraw all 20,000 troops in Germany, plus their families, by 2020.
Since then, 4,000 troops have already moved back to the UK.
Around 11,000 troops will return home by 2016 and the remaining 4,500 troops will be back in the UK by 2019, a year earlier than planned.
The pull-out has been accelerated because there were bigger cuts to the Army than originally planned, saving money which could be used for the relocation.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21665240