Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli, the commander of U.S. European Command and the NATO commander, told House lawmakers Tuesday he recommended the military maintain its current force levels in Europe.
Cavoli’s comments come amid concerns from Congress that the Pentagon is considering reducing the number of U.S. troops on the continent.
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said last week that “mid-level” Pentagon leaders were working on what he described as a misguided plan to “reduce drastically our military footprint in Europe.” The Defense Department, however, has not made public any proposal to cut force levels there.
At a House Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday, panel chairman Rep. Michael Rogers, R-Mich., asked Cavoli for his recommendation.
The number of U.S. troops in Europe increased by about 20,000 under former President Joe Biden in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. There have been roughly 100,000 troops there since then.
“It’s my advice to maintain that force posture as it is now,” Cavoli said. “Since we originally surged forces forward in 2022, we have periodically reviewed for structure both the military and policy level, and I have consistently recommended throughout that period to maintain the forces we surged forward, and I would continue to do so now if asked.”
The same day Cavoli suggested keeping forces in Europe, his command announced it was shuffling U.S. forces within Poland, away from a Ukraine support hub.
Military equipment and personnel were moving out of Jasionka, Poland, to other sites in the country, said U.S. Army Europe and Africa, which noted that the decision came after months of planning with NATO allies.
Military aid will continue to flow to Ukraine via Jasionka under the supervision of Polish and NATO leaders, with a smaller U.S. military force at the site, the Army said.
“After three years at Jasionka this is an opportunity to right-size our footprint and save American taxpayers tens of millions of dollars per year,” Gen. Christopher Donahue, commanding general of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, said in a statement.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Nikki Wentling is a senior editor at Military Times. She’s reported on veterans and military communities for nearly a decade and has also covered technology, politics, health care and crime. Her work has earned multiple honors from the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, the Arkansas Associated Press Managing Editors and others.
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