This week Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth abruptly cancelled two US military deployments to Europe and ordered the removal of other personnel from the continent, according to two defense officials, in a series of moves meant to reduce the number of US troops following criticism by President Donald Trump about support from European allies.
A memo signed by Hegseth abruptly halted the scheduled deployment of 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, which was expected to rotate through Poland and other countries including the Baltic states and Romania, the two defense officials said. Some personnel from the brigade were already in Europe and now must redeploy back to the US.
The memo also cancelled the future deployment to Germany of a battalion that specializes in firing long-range rockets and missiles, the defense officials said, and has directed that a command in Europe overseeing those capabilities be removed from the continent.
The change comes after Trump criticized German Chancellor Friedrich Merz who had said the US was being “humiliated” by Iran and has repeatedly criticized NATO countries for not participating in the Iran war. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell announced on May 1 that the Pentagon would withdraw roughly 5,000 troops from Germany, after “a thorough review of the Department’s force posture in Europe.”
