Fighting between the Ethiopian military and Eritrean resistance fighters forced the closing of military's Keren R &amp; R Center, located in the city of Keren in 1971. The Massawa R&amp;R Center ( the U.S. Army Red Sea Rest Center), located on the Red Sea closed after departure of the Army in 1973. The U.S. Army's 12 million dollar cost for maintaining their soldiers at Kagnew Station faced a budget axe in 1972 and the U.S. Army withdrew from Kagnew Station in 1973 but the Navy personnel remained. Command of Kagnew Station was transferred from the Army to the Navy on July 1, 1973.