PARIS (Realist English). Europe should “absolutely” expect additional US troop withdrawals in the future as European NATO allies strengthen their conventional defense capabilities. This was stated by American General Alexus Grynkewich, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) of NATO’s Allied Joint Force Command.
The redeployment of US troops from Europe will be an ongoing process for several years, even if there is no exact timeline, General Grynkewich said at a press conference in Brussels on May 19, following a meeting of NATO military chiefs.
“What we’re basically saying is, as the European pillar of the alliance gets stronger, this allows the US to reduce its presence in Europe and limit itself to providing only those critical capabilities that allies cannot yet provide,” Grynkewich explained. “So we should expect there to be a redeployment of US forces over time as allies build their capacity.”
The remark comes as Polish government leaders expressed concern about the Pentagon abruptly canceling a planned rotation of an armored brigade combat team of more than 4,000 soldiers to Poland on NATO’s eastern flank.
The military chiefs discussed the US decision to redeploy the armored brigade combat team, which Grynkewich said does not affect what he called the “executability” of NATO’s regional plans. According to him, the US is withdrawing a total of 5,000 troops from Europe, with the armored brigade combat team accounting for a large part, as well as the cancellation of a long-range fires battalion deployment.
Grynkewich said planning is ongoing to redeploy “additional minor elements” accounting for another several hundred troops.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed animosity towards European NATO members, prompting concern in European capitals about whether American commitments to the alliance still hold. The Pentagon said earlier this month it will withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany, whose Chancellor Friedrich Merz has criticized Washington’s handling of the war with Iran.
According to Grynkewich, the decision to withdraw additional troops is for US political leadership. He noted that the timeline will “vary broadly” across different capabilities as NATO members meet spending commitments agreed in 2025 in The Hague and as they meet their capability targets.
NATO’s top military commander emphasized that much has changed since 2022: the Baltic countries, Poland and “many others have really built up their ground combat power. So there’s substantially more capability in the ground domain than there was previously.”
By the numbers
About 68,000 US troops permanently assigned to bases are stationed in Europe, along with up to 20,000 rotational forces. The total number of American military personnel on the continent reaches 88,000. Forces are distributed across 31 permanent bases in more than a dozen countries. The entire group falls under the US European Command (USEUCOM), headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany.
US troop numbers in Europe by country:
- Germany — about 36,400 (main base, reduction of 5,000 underway)
- Italy — about 12,700
- United Kingdom — about 10,200
- Poland — up to 10,000 rotational (rotation plans suspended)
- Spain — about 3,800
- Turkey, Belgium, Netherlands, Romania, Norway, Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary — from several hundred to 1,000–4,000 each
Previously, the planned nine-month rotation of 4,000 troops of an armored brigade to Poland was canceled. At the same time, it was announced that the number of US combat groups in Europe would be reduced from four to three. These measures are part of a broader review of the US military presence on the continent amid disagreements with allies.
