HEIDELBERG, Germany — Baumholder’s place as an enduring U.S. base is almost certainly assured, U.S. Army Europe’s outgoing commander said Tuesday.

Gen. David McKiernan said that keeping the U.S. presence there is part of a global basing plan the Pentagon soon will submit to the U.S. Congress.

McKiernan, who’s leaving USAREUR this week to become top commander in Afghanistan, said he hoped there would be an announcement within the next month.

Baumholder’s status has been an open question for some time as Army transformation has closed scores of Cold War bases throughout Germany.

McKiernan, who last year argued that keeping more U.S. troops in Germany than Army Transformation planned would better serve longtime alliances and national security, said that both USAREUR and the U.S. European Command had requested to keep Baumholder open.

They asked that it be put in a category of “main operating bases,” McKiernan said.

“OSD (Office of the Secretary of Defense) staff has agreed to it and it’s in the master plan that will be submitted to Congress this spring,” he said.

The pending decision is being greeted favorably by German city officials.

“We are very happy that the Americans will stay there. They (have been) there for many, many years and (the Germans and Americans) are used to each other,” Baumholder District Mayor Volkmar Pees said Tuesday.

Pees said he has been to Grafenwöhr and Hohenfels looking at their housing projects tailored for Americans.

There are 2,000 to 3,000 families living off-base in Baumholder, he said.

Stars and Stripes’ Moni Koch in Griesheim, Germany, contributed to this report.