NATO COMMANDER SAYS EUROPE SHOULD EXPECT GRADUAL US TROOP WITHDRAWALS AS ALLIES BUILD UP DEFENSE CAPABILITIES. (PHOTO).

 NATO commander says Europe should expect gradual US troop withdrawals as allies build up defense capabilities

A senior U.S. general serving as NATO’s top military commander for Europe said European allies should expect additional U.S. troop withdrawals in the coming years as member states continue expanding their own conventional defense capabilities. Speaking in Brussels after a meeting of NATO military chiefs, Supreme Allied Commander Europe Gen. Alexus Grynkewich said the process would unfold over several years, with no fixed timeline, as responsibility within the alliance continues to shift.

“As the European pillar of the alliance gets stronger, this allows the U.S. to reduce its presence in Europe and limit itself to providing only those critical capabilities that allies cannot yet provide,” Grynkewich said, adding that redeployments should be expected over time as allied capacity increases. He said recent changes include the withdrawal of about 5,000 U.S. troops from Europe, along with canceled deployments of additional units, while stressing that NATO operational plans remain unaffected.

The remarks come amid concern from some European officials after the Pentagon canceled a planned rotation of more than 4,000 U.S. troops to Poland on NATO’s eastern flank. Grynkewich said smaller adjustments involving several hundred additional personnel are also being considered, but emphasized that decisions on further withdrawals rest with U.S. political leadership. He said the pace of any reductions will vary depending on how quickly allies meet agreed capability and spending commitments.

Grynkewich noted that NATO members, including Poland and Baltic states, have significantly strengthened their ground forces since 2022, pointing to multinational brigades and continued force development efforts in countries such as Latvia and Lithuania. “There’s substantially more capability in the ground domain than there was previously,” he said.

Other NATO military leaders at the meeting said modern warfare is increasingly defined by drones, electronic warfare, cyber capabilities, and rapid production capacity, arguing that traditional platforms alone are no longer sufficient. “More of the same is necessary, but more of the same will not be enough by far,” said Adm. Pierre Vandier, NATO’s transformation commander.