The United States will have fewer than 20,000 active duty military personnel stationed in Germany on December 31, 2013.
Active troops stationed in Germany peaked at 256,000 in 1982. As of Sept. 30, 2002, there are 68,000.
Statistics are available at the Department of Defense website in the "Active Duty Military Personnel Strengths by Regional Area and by Country (309A)" report. This claim will use the number of troops listed in the "Total" column.
Dod Military Personnel Statistics (at http://web1.whs.osd.mil/mmid/military/miltop.htm)
Historic annual reports are available at:
DoD Military Personnel Historical Reports (athttp://web1.whs.osd.mil/mmid/military/history/309hist.htm)
The most recent report is for Sept. 30, 2002. According to DoD they will not be reporting for the December period in 2002 due to difficulties in counting Air Force personnel. Usually the report comes out within three months of the end of the reporting period. If a report is not available for the December 31, 2013 period, the judge should refer to the most recent report prior to December 31, 2013 but not earlier than December 31, 2010.
If the US government no longer exists on December 31, 2013 the claim will be judged 'true'. If the Department of Defense no longer releases reports of active duty personnel by country, the judge will attempt to find a reliable alternative. If no such alternative exists, the claim will be judged 'true'. If the Federal Republic of Germany no longer exists, or US troop numbers are reported as part of a larger entity (i.e. the EU or other entity) on December 31, 2013, the judge will attempt to find the number of US troops stationed within the historic geographical boundries of Germany (boundries as of 03/21/2003). If the judge cannot discern that number, the claim will be judged 'true'. If the United States is at war with Germany in 2013, the claim will be judged 'true'.
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