Leuchars will not lose out on any troops despite rumoured armed forces cutbacks, the Scottish Secretary has pledged.
Former defence minister Sir Nick Harvey has previously suggested officials were looking at slashing the British Army to as few as 60,000 soldiers, sparking fears about the former RAF base.
However, Alistair Carmichael said the warnings from his Liberal Democrat MP will not impact upon the Fife site as the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards begin to arrive in town.
He said: “Changes always bring anxiety and the best guarantee can only be that the Ministry of Defence and the army keep talking to the local community, keep talking to the council and I understand they’ve been doing that.
“The main body of the troops are going to be locating from Germany over the summer so I think that is pretty much in line with what had previously been promised and expected and I see no reason to think it is not going to happen.
“I think it is entirely understandable that there should be a degree of local anxiety at a time of change like this but I think the message the community needs to hear is that the commitments which have been made are being met.”
Mr Carmichael also predicted Tim Brett, who is standing to replace Sir Menzies Campbell as North East Fife MP, would win the seat with little difficulty.
Polls have been showing a Lib Dem collapse nationwide but the former chief whip at Westminster praised the candidate.
He said: “Tim is one of the hardest working candidates I have ever come across.”