What to know about US military presence in Europe as Trump seeks drawdown

Summary

President Donald Trump’s vow to reduce U.S. military deployments in Germany has revived questions about how Washington underwrites European security and how quickly any reduction could take place. The focus sharpened after the Pentagon announced Friday that it would remove 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany, and Trump said the next day he would go “a lot further” than that, according to the Associated Press.

The U.S. troop posture in Europe has long been built on historical roles that extend beyond NATO, including support for operations in other regions and military readiness linked to a European staging network. A pullback could therefore affect more than just the Western alliance’s posture toward Russia, the AP reported.

The U.S. European Command, known as EUCOM, was created in 1947 and is one of 11 combatant commands within the Defense Department, covering some 50 countries and territories. In addition to more than 36,000 troops in Germany, the AP said Italy hosts more than 12,000 and the United Kingdom has about 10,000, using Pentagon numbers from December.

The Pentagon has offered few details about which troops or operations would be affected in the announced drawdown, the AP said. It also noted that NATO allies like Germany have expected for more than a year that these troops would be the first to leave as the U.S. posture is reconsidered amid the war in Ukraine.

The U.S. military presence in Europe also plays a role in enabling Washington to project power, beyond deterrence against Russia. The AP reported that U.S. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, who commands both U.S. and NATO forces in Europe, told the Senate Armed Services Committee in March that the capabilities and munitions in Europe help support missions including U.S. Africa Command and U.S. Central Command, saying the distances are shorter and it is easier to project power.

Germany hosts the headquarters of the U.S. European and Africa commands, Ramstein Air Base, and the Landstuhl medical center, the AP said, adding that the country also has U.S. nuclear weapons stationed there. The article also cited a March estimate from the Federation of American Scientists that placed about 100 nuclear bombs at bases in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey, and said it was possible they are also at a base in the United Kingdom.

As the Pentagon’s move and Trump’s comments landed, Republican leaders on Capitol Hill also weighed in. Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama warned that a premature drawdown would send “the wrong signal to Vladimir Putin” as his war in Ukraine continues, and they said troops should be shifted to bases in Eastern Europe rather than withdrawn. They also said allies have made “substantial investments to host U.S. troops” and that, after the Friday announcement, the Pentagon decided to cancel a planned deployment to Germany of a U.S. Army long-range fires battalion.

Trump’s approach, as reflected in the administration’s National Defense Strategy announced in January, places greater emphasis on Europe doing more for its own security. That strategy said the United States “must—and will—prioritize defending the U.S. Homeland and deterring China” while remaining engaged in Europe, and it described Europe’s economic clout—despite shrinking in relative terms—as still significant. The AP said the strategy also argued that NATO allies are substantially more powerful than Russia, pointing to a push for national defense spending to reach 5% of GDP.

Germany, for its part, has moved to modernize its Bundeswehr since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The AP said Germany set up a €100 billion ($117 billion) special fund in 2022 to boost the force, with much of it earmarked for new equipment. It reported that late last year Merz’s government outlined plans to raise the number of military personnel to 260,000, up from about 180,000, and it said Berlin expects it will also need around 200,000 reservists—more than double the current figure.

In comments to German news agency dpa after the Pentagon’s drawdown plan was announced Friday, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius acknowledged that Europe must take more responsibility for its own security. The AP said Pistorius said the Bundeswehr is growing, military equipment is being procured more quickly, and infrastructure is being developed, as U.S. officials consider changes to a Europe-based deployment with long institutional roots.

keaten reported from Geneva.