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U.S. Army Europe gets new commander

BERLIN — Gen. Carter F. Ham assumed formal command Monday of U.S. Army Europe, taking over as the military reshapes its footprint on the continent.

Ham, considered a rising star in the Army, was the U.S. commander in northern Iraq from 2004 to 2005, and most recently served as director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

He takes over from acting commander Lt. Gen. Gary D. Speer, who filled in after Gen. David D. McKiernan left the position in May to assume command of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.

Ham arrives in the middle of the U.S. plan to reduce its number of troops in Germany from 68,000 in 2001 to 28,000 by 2012 — part of an initiative by former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to transform the military into a leaner, more cost-effective force.

The plan was put on hold at the end of last year after the head of U.S. European Command, Gen. Bantz Craddock, recommended keeping two brigades in Germany to help support operations including NATO’s mission in Afghanistan.

The two brigades will remain two years longer than originally planned, with one now scheduled to be relocated in 2012 and the other in 2013.

“I believe that U.S. Army Europe is on the leading edge of transforming our military,” Ham said in remarks at the formal handover ceremony, according to a release from the military. “That leading role brings with it some accompanying uncertainty and unpredictability. It’s my job to work to remove some of that uncertainty.”

U.S. Army Europe comes under the U.S. European Command and provides continuous oversight and control of Army operations throughout the EuCom area of responsibility.

That covers more than 21 million square miles and includes more than 90 countries and territories. It extends from the North Cape of Norway, through the waters of the Baltic and Mediterranean seas, most of Europe, parts of the Middle East, to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.