Vietnam-era troop degradation and economic strain fueled GI crime in Germany.

Evidence

In Germany, crimes committed by GIs during the Vietnam era helped sour many on the golden years of American occupation. As the war dragged on, the Army stationed some of its least well-trained troops in Germany. Base conditions deteriorated, and dissension and disorder grew accordingly. What’s more, the value of the dollar against the mark had declined dramatically, and GIs suddenly felt and looked poor in the eyes of many Germans. Drug use was rife. Reports of mugging, robbery, assault, rape, and arson by GIs became common. In 1971, there was outright “insurrection,” with soldiers in Wiesbaden refusing to participate in an exercise. VIETNAM HAS POISONED THE U.S. ARMY IN GERMANY, read one West German newspaper headline. Another declared, AMERICAN TERROR AS NEVER BEFORE. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 858

Categorization

• SEED: Angle: how a distant war (Vietnam) erodes attitudes toward basing in an unrelated host country (Germany) — a compound causation chain worth a short essay.