What to know about the US military presence in Europe as Trump seeks drawdown of thousands of troops

President Donald Trump’s vow to shrink America’s subject deployment successful Germany has enactment a caller spotlight connected the US relation successful Europe.

There are usually 80,000 to 100,000 troops connected the continent, with much than 36,000 successful Germany. The Pentagon announced Friday that it would region 5,000 troops from Germany, and Trump said the adjacent time that helium would spell “a batch further” than that.

The US subject beingness is simply a bequest of World War II, when Americans helped stabilize and rebuild Europe, and the Cold War, when the troops served arsenic a bulwark against Soviet expansion. More recently, the deployment has played a cardinal relation supporting operations successful the Arctic, Africa and the Middle East including the existent struggle with Iran.

But Trump has breached with years of bipartisan consensus, criticizing European allies successful NATO and pursuing done connected threats to trim the US committedness to the continent’s security. The caller announcement comes aft escalating tensions with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who past week said the US was being “humiliated” by Iran and accusing Washington of lacking a wide strategy.

Here’s a look astatine America’s existent deployment successful Europe and however it could change.

What to cognize astir the US defence posture successful Europe

The US European Command, created successful 1947 and known arsenic EUCOM, is 1 of 11 combat commands within the Defense Department, and covers some 50 countries and territories.

In summation to much than 36,000 troops successful Germany, Italy hosts much than 12,000 and there’s different 10,000 successful the United Kingdom, according to Pentagon numbers from December.

The Pentagon has offered fewer details astir which troops oregon operations would beryllium affected successful the drawdown announced Friday.

The US accrued its European deployment aft Russia launched its full-scale war connected Ukraine 4 years ago. NATO allies similar Germany person expected for implicit a year that these troops would beryllium the archetypal to leave.

European deployment has planetary role

Aside from its relation arsenic a deterrent to Russia, the US subject beingness successful Europe helps Washington task powerfulness crossed the globe.

US Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, who is the commandant successful Europe of some US and NATO forces, reinforced the benefits of a strong footprint connected the continent to the Senate Armed Services Committee successful March.

“It is having capabilities successful Europe, munitions successful Europe that let us to assistance US Africa Command to target terrorists successful Africa, oregon to assistance US Central Command arsenic they execute Operation Epic Fury,” helium told lawmakers, referring to the Iran war. “The distances are shorter, it’s little costly and it’s overmuch easier to task power.”

Germany hosts the office of the US European and Africa commands, Ramstein Air Base and a aesculapian halfway successful Landstuhl, where casualties from the wars successful Afghanistan and Iraq were treated. US atomic weapons are besides stationed successful the country.

The US has astir 100 atomic bombs deployed to bases successful Europe that would beryllium delivered by aircraft, according to a March estimation from the Federation of American Scientists. The group’s study said the bombs are astatine bases successful Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey, while it’s imaginable they’re besides astatine a basal successful the United Kingdom.

A telephone to determination US forces further eastbound successful Europe

Even earlier Trump’s remark Saturday to reporters, Republican leaders of some equipped services committees successful Congress expressed interest astir the Pentagon plan, warning a premature drawdown successful Europe would nonstop “the wrong awesome to Vladimir Putin” arsenic the Russian president continues his war successful Ukraine.

Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama said troops should beryllium shifted to bases successful Eastern Europe alternatively than withdrawn.

The lawmakers besides said allies person made “substantial investments to big US troops.”

Wicker and Rogers said the Pentagon, pursuing its announcement Friday, has besides decided to cancel the planned deployment to Germany of 1 of the US Army’s long-range fires battalions, which run ground-launched rocket systems.

Trump’s vision: DIY defence successful Europe

As portion of its National Defense Strategy announced successful January – a sweeping papers laying retired a vision connected everything from deterring China to defending against cyberattacks to disrupting Iran’s atomic ambitions – the medication said Europe indispensable bash much for its ain defense.

While “we are and will stay engaged successful Europe, we indispensable – and will – prioritize defending the US Homeland and deterring China,” it said.

Among different things, the papers noted that Europe’s economical power, while shrinking successful comparative terms globally, remains significant, and said that Germany’s system unsocial “dwarfs that of Russia.”

“Fortunately, our NATO allies are substantially much almighty than Russia – it is not adjacent close,” it said, noting a caller committedness among NATO allies to rise nationalist defence spending to 5% of GDP successful total, a propulsion led by Trump.

What Germany has been doing to beef up its forces

Germany has moved to modernize its long-neglected military, oregon Bundeswehr, since Russia’s penetration of Ukraine successful 2022. That year, it acceptable up a 100 cardinal euro ($117 billion) special money to boost Bundeswehr, overmuch of which has been committed to procuring caller equipment.

Late past year, Merz’s authorities announced plans to rise the fig of subject unit to 260,000, up from astir 180,000. In 2001, when Germany still had conscription, the headcount was 300,000 – much than a third of them conscripts.

Berlin says it will besides request astir 200,000 reservists, much than treble the existent figure.

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, successful comments to German quality bureau dpa aft the Pentagon’s drawdown program was announced Friday, acknowledged that Europe indispensable take much work for its ain information – and said the Bundeswehr is growing, subject instrumentality is being procured much quickly, and infrastructure is being developed. [AP]