Top general: Cheaper to keep troops in South Korea than U.S.
The top U.S. commander in South Korea said on Tuesday that it was "absolutely" cheaper to have American troops in the Asian country rather than back home, when questioned on the subject at a Senate hearing.
Army Gen. Vincent Brooks told the Senate Armed Services Committee that "the Republic of Korea is carrying a significant load" of the U.S. commitment and pays "about 50% of our personnel costs of being there," in response to questioning from Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
There are about 49,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan, 28,000 in South Korea and 38,000 in Germany.
Brooks noted that the Korean government was providing $808 million to support U.S. troops in the region in addition to paying for 92% of a $10.8 billion base relocation project in Korea, which he described as "the largest (Pentagon) construction project we have anywhere in the world."
Zack Cooper of the Center for Strategic and International Studies agreed that the cost of returning U.S. troops would be higher than keeping them in East Asia.
He told CNN, "If you were to shift U.S. forces currently in Japan and Korea back to the U.S., you would have to place them somewhere, and those facilities are fairly expensive to build and maintain."
Cooper added that countries like Japan and Korea pay for the maintenance and utilities for U.S. bases and facilities in the region. He said Japan pays about $2 billion a year in this type of support.
Were these troops to be redeployed to the United States, the American taxpayer would be forced to incur these costs.
https://www.cnn.com/2016/04/21/politics/trump-troops-korea-japan-cheaper-abroad/index.html
Dumb fuck Trump doesn't even know what he is talking about. Just like his minions here.