Senator criticises Pentagon officials on alleged US troop drawdown in Europe

The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee has criticised Pentagon "mid-level" leadership for what he said was a misguided plan to reduce the number of US troops based in Europe.

"There are some who believe now is the time to reduce drastically our military footprint in Europe," Senator Roger Wicker said at a hearing with US European Command and US Africa Command military leadership.

"I’m troubled at those deeply misguided and dangerous views held by some mid-level bureaucrats within the Defence Department."

It was not immediately clear what "mid-level bureaucrats" Wicker was talking about but he warned that "they've been working to pursue a US retreat from Europe and they've often been doing so without coordinating with the secretary of defence."

However, neither the Defence Department nor the Pentagon has made any proposal to cut force levels there public.

His criticism of any potential reduction in US support to NATO and Ukraine were a running theme throughout the hearing.

Under questioning from senators, Army General Christopher Cavoli, commander of US European Command and the supreme allied commander Europe, said a potential plan by the Trump administration to relinquish the allied commander position to another nation could create problems for control over the US nuclear weapons and the tens of thousands of American troops deployed across the continent.

A US general has long held the post of allied commander, a position that oversees all NATO military plans and decisions.

And the US is often the largest troop contributor to NATO operations.

"I think that would bring some challenges in terms of nuclear command and control. It would put us in a position where, in an Article Five situation, we could have for the first time since the First World War large numbers of American troops under non-US command," Cavoli said, referring to NATO's Article Five collective defence pledge in which an attack against one allied nation is considered an attack on all.

"I think those are things that would have to be considered carefully," Cavoli said, calling any plan to give up the leadership role "problematic."

He also noted that NATO allies are investing in their militaries "at a rate we haven't seen since the end of the Cold War. A 40% increase in spending since February of 2022."

He said the presence of US troops in Europe has been essential to NATO's transformation and modernisation efforts and is also critical to America's national defence.

Commitment to NATO

While there has been no official announcement about any US military drawdown in Europe, President Donald Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth have both made it clear they want NATO to do more to defend its own region and that the US is turning to focus more on China and America's southern border.

The US has also dropped its leadership role in the broad effort to coordinate military support for Ukraine and given the helm to the British.

Both steps have worried allies, who fear the US is stepping away from its long-held commitment to Europe and NATO.

The number of US troops stationed in Europe increased by about 20,000 under Trump’s Democratic predecessor Joe Biden in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

They helped with training, logistics of weapons shipments and reassured allies on NATO's eastern flank that the United States would defend them.

There have been roughly 100,000 troops there since, including the Navy’s 6th Fleet, as well as nuclear warheads. US firepower ensures that NATO’s ability to deter Russia is credible.

NATO allies have expressed concern about any reduction of American troops or support in the region.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Brussels this week seeking to reassure NATO allies about the US commitment to the alliance under Trump.

That military reassurance had been almost put into question by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who used his first visit to NATO and the Ukraine Defence Contact Group in February to tell allies that the US would be reassessing troop levels with an eye towards a greater focus on China.

Hegseth told allies he was there "to directly and unambiguously express that stark strategic realities prevent the United States of America from being primarily focused on the security of Europe."

Trump has tried to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, but so far that effort has faltered.