Fighting between the Ethiopian military and Eritrean resistance fighters forced the closing of military's Keren R & R Center, located in the city of Keren in 1971. The Massawa R&R Center, located on the Red Sea, was closed shortly after the Keren R & R Center. 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.