23.07.2004, 17:10
Türkische Armee veringert die Truppenstärke
Zitat:Turkey to scrap four army brigades -- newspaperQuelle: <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.network54.com/Forum/thread?forumid=248068&messageid=1090590916&lp=1090591573">www.network54.com/Forum/thread?forumid= ... 1090591573</a><!-- w -->
ANKARA, July 23 (Reuters) - Turkey's military General Staff plans to abolish four brigades, cutting the size of NATO's second biggest army by 18,000 in a drive to improve efficiency and flexibility, the Referans daily said on Friday.
Those to be scrapped are the 33rd armoured brigade near the Bulgarian and Greek borders, the 7th mechanised brigade on the Armenian border, the 10th infantry brigade on the Iranian border and the ninth armoured division in central Anatolia, it said.
The report said the General Staff also aimed to scrap its Aegean army next year in a move seen as underlining much-improved ties with Greece, a NATO ally but traditional rival with which Turkey almost went to war as recently as 1996.