Achtung! German Now in Top US Army Position - Is America Losing Control of Armed Forces?

Steve Elwart / WND

Gen. Laubenthal

In an unprecedented move, a German officer has been appointed to a key command post over the U.S. Army in Europe.

German Brig. Gen. Markus Laubenthal, 51, became chief of staff last week, the first non-American officer to hold that position, the Army said.

According to Germany’s defense ministry, Laubenthal will serve as “the right-hand man” to Lt. Gen. Donald Campbell Jr., who commands more than 37,000 U.S. Army Europe, USAREUR, personnel from headquarters in the central German city of Wiesbaden.

Prior to assuming his post at USAREUR, Laubenthal, a general officer from the German Armed Forces, the Bundeswehr, was the commander of Panzerbrigade 12, the 12th Armored Brigade, in Amberg, Germany. He also was the chief of staff for International Security Assistance Force Regional Command North in Afghanistan and the assistant chief of staff for operations for NATO’s Kosovo force.

Laubenthal’s appointment comes at a time when relations between the U.S. and Germany are decidedly strained. Recent revelations of U.S. spying and the tapping of German government phones, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s, have put the two nations at odds with each other. The new appointment may be meant to repair relations.

“This is a bold and major step forward in USAREUR’s commitment to operating in a multinational environment with our German allies,” Campbell said of Laubenthal’s appointment. “U.S. and German senior military leaders have been serving together in NATO’s International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan for years. Sustaining the shared capability from this experience will benefit both U.S. and German armies.”

A German army spokesman called the move “a clear sign for a good German-American cooperation.”

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