United States Army Europe

United States Army Europe (USAREUR) is an Army Service Component Command of the United States Army. It is responsible for continuous oversight and control of U.S. Army operations throughout the United States European Command Area of Responsibility.

The command was established in 1952 as a redesignation of a pre-existing army command known as U.S. European Command. That command was itself a redesignation of U.S. Forces, European Theater. In January 1967, in accordance with Headquarters Department of the Army Msg NR DA796059 dated 9 January 1967, the USAREUR and Seventh Army staffs were combined to become U.S. Army Europe/Seventh Army. Nearly forty years later, Army Campaign Plan DP 58 (circa 2006) effectively dropped the Seventh Army title. Decisions that took effect in 2006 stated that the official designation would be "United States Army Europe" (USAREUR). The organization perpetuates the lineage and honors of the Seventh Army and authorized the display and wear of appropriate Seventh Army heraldic items.

Since the Cold War began in the late 1940s, USAREUR has supervised formations mostly focused upon defending against Soviet and Warsaw Pact threats from the east as part of NATO's Central Army Group. Since 1990, however, the command has been greatly reduced in size, despatched forces to the Gulf War, and emphasised security cooperation with new NATO allies and other partners.