Soldiers assigned to the 2nd Armored Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division aim their weapons during an exercise at Trzebien Training Area, Poland, in this undated photo. The unit’s planned nine-month deployment to Poland was halted by the Pentagon last week as part of a broader reshaping of the U.S. military’s presence in Europe. (Jacob Nunnenkamp/U.S. Army)
STUTTGART, Germany — The Pentagon’s decision to cut the number of Army brigades in Europe reflects a broader reassessment of U.S. force posture on the Continent, a top Pentagon official said Tuesday, as Washington weighs additional adjustments.
The move cancels the planned nine-month deployment of a Fort Hood, Texas-based armored brigade to Poland, reducing the number of Army brigade combat teams in Europe from four to three.
In a statement, chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell described the change as a “temporary delay” in deployments to Poland, which he called a “model U.S. ally.”
The reduction returns U.S. brigade combat team levels in Europe to where they stood in 2021, Parnell pointed out. That was before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine prompted a larger American military presence in Europe.
The U.S. now has two permanently stationed brigades on the Continent: the 2nd Cavalry Regiment in Vilseck, Germany, and the 173rd Airborne in Vicenza, Italy. A third brigade still operates on a rotational basis, mostly in Poland.
U.S. soldiers assigned to the 1st Armored Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division join in a tank combat show at Bemowo Piskie Training Area, Poland, on July 13, 2024. While Poland absorbed most of the Pentagon’s recent 5,000-troop drawdown in Europe, Defense Department spokesman Sean Parnell described the move as temporary. (Brett Thompson/U.S. Army)
While Poland is bearing the brunt of the 5,000-troop reduction, Parnell’s characterization of the move as temporary suggests that the Pentagon has not ruled out future deployments to Poland.
“The Department will determine the final disposition of these and other U.S. forces in Europe based on further analysis of U.S. strategic and operational requirements, as well as our allies’ own ability to contribute forces toward Europe’s defense,” Parnell said.
The canceled deployment has unsettled officials in Poland, which has spent years pushing for a larger and more permanent U.S. military presence as a deterrent against Russia.
On Tuesday, Washington sought to calm concerns in Warsaw over the reductions. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth spoke with Polish Deputy Prime Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, Parnell said.
The U.S. will remain in close contact with Poland, “including to ensure that the United States retains a strong military presence” there, he added.
Kosiniak-Kamysz said in a statement on X after the conversation that Hegseth had assured him that the U.S. commitment to Poland’s defense “remains unchanged” and that no decision had been made to reduce American military capabilities in Poland.
“The Pentagon is currently preparing a new plan for the deployment of its forces across Europe,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said without elaborating.
Parnell’s statement on Tuesday provided more clarity to a situation that has sparked confusion across Europe. When the Pentagon announced on May 1 that it planned to pull 5,000 troops from Germany, it made no mention of Poland.
That raised questions about whether major units, such as the regiment in Vilseck, could be relocated. A plan during President Donald Trump’s first term called for such a move, though it never came to fruition.
However, the main Germany-based unit affected by the latest reductions is a long-range fires battalion that has not yet arrived in Europe.
The Fort Drum, N.Y.-based 3rd Battalion, 12th Field Artillery Regiment was slated to move to Germany later this year, but that was canceled, according to U.S. European Command chief Gen. Alexus Grynkewich.
A few hundred other troops in Germany also will be affected, Grynkewich said Tuesday but did not specify the units involved. He added that no further force reductions in Europe are expected in the immediate future.
Parnell didn’t elaborate on how the U.S. might reshape its long-term force posture in Europe, but the review is likely to intensify competition among allies seeking to maintain or expand an American military presence.
Poland has invested heavily in infrastructure to support U.S. troops and has been praised by Trump officials for its defense spending.
Sharing a border with the heavily militarized Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, Poland has long sought a larger and more permanent American troop presence.
