Viewed as part of security policy, the structure and basing of U.S. forces in Germany between 1945 and 1990 might appear somewhat static. However, although Germany literally held center stage, American forces and installations stationed there were always part of larger forward-deployed military commands with land, sea, and air components throughout Western Europe. Their numbers, therefore, continually varied in response to changes in the larger postwar security environment and in the United States' commitment to Europe.

redeployment and reorganization: 1945-50

At the end of World War II, the sinews of American military power stretched from the continental United States across the Atlantic Ocean to the heart of Central Europe. U.S. forces in the European Theater of Operations were under the command of the combined British-American Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) for operations, and the Headquarters, European Theater of Operations United States Army-Communications Zone (ETOUSA-COMZ) for administration and supply. In addition to the COMZ, ETOUSA commands included the Twelfth Army Group, the Sixth Army Group, the U.S. Strategic Air Force in Europe (USSTAF), and the United States Naval Forces in France. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, U.S. Army, commanded SHAEF and ETOUSA.