The United States will station 500 more military personnel in Germany in a bid to strengthen bilateral ties, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Tuesday at the start of his first visit to Europe. "I briefed the minister on our intention to permanently station approximately 500 additional US personnel in the Wiesbaden area as early as this fall," Austin told reporters after talks with his German counterpart Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. bur-dlc/hmn/mjs