The U.S. military abruptly canceled the deployment of more than 4,000 troops to Poland and announced it would withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany as the department restructures its posture in Europe.
The canceled deployment to Poland, which was reported on Wednesday, involved the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, also known as the “Black Jack” brigade, based at Fort Hood, Texas. There was no immediate explanation for the decision.
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There are approximately 80,000 U.S. troops in Europe.
The administration’s decision to pull troops from Germany came amid Trump’s public feud with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the Iran war. Trump has since warned that the Pentagon would be “cutting a lot further than 5,000.”
Lithuanian Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas made headlines on Wednesday as well, when he indicated the United States had suspended its troop rotation to Europe, but he clarified those remarks to the Washington Examiner during a meeting in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital.
“Lithuania remains in constant contact with its allies and operates on the basis of official information provided by them,” he said. “Lithuania has received no information from the United States regarding the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Lithuanian territory. However, Lithuania had been previously informed of possible changes to the rotation in the U.S. presence in Europe.”
Kaunas said Lithuania “is always ready to welcome more U.S. troops,” adding that “it remains in constant contact with the United States and continues to demonstrate its commitments — both through its host nation support package and its defense spending, which is the highest among NATO allies as a percentage of GDP.”
Like Kaunas, other defense leaders in Eastern European countries have said they would be happy to host a larger American military presence if given the opportunity.
Both Polish President Karol Nawrocki and Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze echoed that sentiment in recent days.
Eastern European allies view U.S. military presence in their countries as increased deterrence against Russia from making moves against them, which is why they are hoping the U.S. posture review rearranges but does not reduce its presence on the continent.
Trump has long had a tense relationship with NATO and America’s European allies in part because, in his view, they have not done enough for their own security. He pushed the alliance to increase the defense spending minimum requirement from 2% of GDP to 5%.
Given Trump’s threats toward NATO countries in Europe, Congress included a provision in the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act that states the U.S. cannot reduce its forces in Europe below 76,000 without submitting an assessment and certifying to Congress that such a move would not harm U.S. or NATO security interests.
US ARMY UNEXPECTEDLY SCRAPS DEPLOYMENT OF 4,000 SOLDIERS TO POLAND
The chairmen of both the House and Senate armed services committees, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) and Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), respectively, released statements earlier this month expressing their concern about the Pentagon’s decision to withdraw a brigade from Germany. The pair suggested that instead of withdrawing them from the continent altogether, they move them farther east in Europe.
Amid the concern about a U.S. footprint reduction across Europe, U.S. Army soldiers recently participated in the Sword exercise in eastern Europe.
