Pentagon abruptly cancels troop deployment to Europe amid frustrations w...

Pentagon abruptly cancels troop deployment to Europe amid frustrations with NATO

The Pentagon has abruptly withdrawn thousands of soldiers from a planned deployment to Poland, officials said Thursday, part of a larger troop reduction that comes as President Donald Trump has expressed anger over Europe’s refusal to aid in the war with Iran. Soldiers and equipment from the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, had already arrived in Poland to start a planned nine-month deployment on a mission to deter Russian aggression in Europe, U.S. defense officials said, prompting a scramble to halt soldiers departing from Fort Hood in Texas and arrange the return of hundreds of personnel who reached Poland. Long scheduled deployments are rarely canceled and fewer still after they begin. Some U.S. military leaders in Europe were caught off guard with the decision after learning about it through a Defense Department memo distributed earlier this week, two U.S. defense officials said, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing decisions and military movements. About 4,000 soldiers plus heavy vehicles such as Abrams tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles were expected to be deployed for exercises in the region, serving as training and a message to Moscow. There are tens of thousands of U.S. troops stationed on the continent, a significant portion of which serve on rotational deployments from the United States and elsewhere. Trump earlier this month said that he was instructing the Pentagon to slash 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany amid an ongoing feud with Chancellor Friedrich Merz and other European allies over what he has said is inadequate support for the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, which is now in a tenuous ceasefire. Trump vowed he would reduce the U.S. military presence by “a lot more” than the initial 5,000 troops, a process expected to take six months to a year. Germany has served as a vital hub for U.S. operations against Iran, including its hospitals at U.S. bases in country for severely injured personnel evacuated from the Middle East. Pentagon spokespeople declined to comment on the Poland troop cancellation. The Defense Department has said in a variety of strategic planning policy documents that it intends to increase troop presence in the Western Hemisphere and the Pacific and offload much of its responsibility of European defense to NATO allies. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the decision to cancel the brigade’s deployment “really troubling” while speaking to reporters Thursday. Shaheen argued that withholding an armor brigade from a key European ally would embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s war in Ukraine, now in its fifth year. In this year’s defense policy bill, lawmakers required the Pentagon to provide an extensive set of plans if the administration lowers U.S. force posture in Europe below 76,000 troops for more than 45 days. Shaheen said the Poland decision would likely keep the number of troops on the continent above that threshold - but called on GOP members of Congress to speak out. “It is a policy that makes no sense,” Shaheen said. Poland’s defense minister, Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, downplayed the decision, saying on social media on Wednesday night that the pullout “does not concern Poland” but is related to a ”previously announced change in the presence of some U.S. Armed Forces in Europe.” Trump has pointed to Poland as a model ally in his desire for NATO countries to spend more on defense. The country spent about 4.5 percent of its GDP on defense in 2025, the highest of all NATO countries, including the U.S. A NATO official said the alliance is aware “that the U.S. is working to adjust its posture in Europe” but that changes with rotational forces “would not impact NATO’s deterrence and defense plans.” The official noted the partnership of other allies, saying there was “increasing presence on the eastern flank from Canada and Germany.” The reversal of the U.S. deployment underscores the White House’s chaotic and abrupt decision making that has complicated plans in Eastern Europe and support for allies, even as Army units are working to forge new battlefield strategies modeled on the fight in Ukraine. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and Gen. Christopher LaNeve, the acting Army chief of staff, did not mention the decision during testimony Tuesday on Capitol Hill. At Fort Hood on May 1, Army leaders did not signal their Poland deployment was imperiled, and instead told soldiers that they were embarking on an important mission. “Make no mistake, our adversaries are paying attention,” 1st Cavalry Division commander Maj. Gen. Tom Feltey said in a ceremony, according to Stars and Stripes. “When an armored brigade combat team deploys forward, it sends a clear and unmistakable signal.” The soldiers were expected to fan out across Eastern Europe, replacing U.S. troops who have conducted maneuvers in Poland and the Baltic states. Instead, soldiers who had arrived in Poland were instructed to “make haste” to return, one of the U.S. defense officials said. The order of a quick turnaround triggered complications, the officials said, including requirements to deep clean vehicles to avoid bringing contaminations back home, reworking schedules to return or redirect cargo ships, and finding flights for troops. While the deployment cancellation could negatively impact relations with European allies, there has been a solid and mutually beneficial groundwork laid with partner militaries, one of the U.S. officials said, including the provision of weapons and drone networks to prepare defenses in the event of a Russian invasion. The drawdowns also include scrapping plans for an Army long-range fires battalion to be stationed in Europe, The Post previously reported. That is a significant loss for the continent, the U.S. defense officials said. The plan, announced by NATO in 2024, said personnel would oversee missiles that would “have significantly longer range than current land-based fires” in Europe. Trump has suggested that more reductions could come, naming Italy and Spain, both of which have been opposed to overt participation in which has led opposition to the Iran war. The Pentagon last year withdrew a brigade from Romania. European officials say they expect an eventual U.S. military drawdown, and that a reduction of a few thousand troops would not have a huge impact. But the Europeans have advocated for any pullback to be coordinated and it is possible, some have speculated, that Poland may be the eventual home for troops relocated from Germany. If the U.S. were to cut overall the number of troops by a few thousand on the continent, it would return America’s force posture there to levels unseen in Europe since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022 - after which the Biden administration surged forces to the continent in an effort to deter further attacks from the Kremlin.