Splitting one rapid-reaction brigade between two countries undermines its deployment speed

Evidence

Given the strategic interest in consolidating south of the Alps, the decision to keep the 173rd brigade divided between Italy and Germany is perplexing on purely military grounds. The 173rd is supposed to be designed for rapid reaction to military emergencies. As the Army’s Keith Eastin explained to Congress in 2006, keeping the brigade divided between bases in the two countries means the two battalions staying in Germany would almost surely face significantly longer deployment times than the four battalions in Vicenza. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 759

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the book’s broader theme that basing decisions serve political/political-institutional motives rather than military logic. — connects to: French counterinsurgency strategy split between withdrawal and scorched-earth ratissage — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 324; Political positions demanding contradictory simultaneous moves become tactically weak
• yield-rescued: below the book’s yield-target cutoff, included anyway for connecting to: French counterinsurgency strategy split between withdrawal and scorched-earth ratissage — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 324; Political positions demanding contradictory simultaneous moves become tactically weak