In November, news of the reactivation of the 56th Artillery Command at Clay Barracks in Wiesbaden caused excitement and concern.

Would Major General Stephen Maranian's unit, which was decommissioned 30 years ago, target the state capital?

Oliver Bock

Correspondent for the Rhein-Main-Zeitung for the Rheingau-Taunus district and for Wiesbaden.

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Mayor Gert-Uwe Mende (SPD) took the news as an opportunity to ask the new Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) for clarification.

Mende now has the answer, and he quotes from the Lambrecht letter: "The US government has confirmed that it will not station any missile systems at the 56th Artillery Command in the Mainz-Kastel district of the city of Wiesbaden."

This counteracts rumors, which, according to British media reports, were also circulating in Wiesbaden, according to which new "Dark Eagle" long-range missiles are stationed in Kastel, which could hit Russia within 20 minutes at several times the speed of sound.

Mende is satisfied that this is not the case.

The statement that no missile systems would be stationed serves the necessary clarity, says the mayor.

"No reason to calm down" for the left

Federal Minister Lambrecht has assured that she takes Wiesbaden's concerns about the stationing of long-range missiles very seriously.

She raised the issue in a conversation with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

This confirmed that it was not intended to station missile systems in Wiesbaden.

He also reported this to the Foreign Office, which is responsible for stationing issues.

The artillery command is therefore primarily responsible for the coordination, support and integration of American units in Europe and Africa. Mende is now able to answer the questions of the Left Party parliamentary group. Even if the hypersonic missiles are not stationed in Kastel, the parliamentary group points out that these weapons can be mounted on vehicles and can therefore be used in a mobile manner. For the left, therefore, a waiver of stationing in Kastel is "no reason to calm down, because according to the statements by the headquarters, the planning and command structures are concentrated in Wiesbaden," said city councilor Brigitte Forssbohm.

The left has also learned that the number of soldiers stationed in Wiesbaden will increase only slightly from the current 12,500 to 13,000 to 14,000 as a result of the reactivated unit.

Apartments in American properties are available for the soldiers and their families.

Increased noise emissions and traffic movements are not to be expected.

Nevertheless, Die Linke regrets that after hopes of an end to the Cold War with Donald Trump's termination of the INF Treaty, the East-West conflict "is picking up speed again.

As a result, Europe is once again in danger of becoming a venue for military conflicts.”