https://www.politico.eu/article/us-t...ry-delinquent/
US to pull 12,000 troops from Germany after Trump calls country ‘delinquent’
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon on Wednesday laid out a plan to shift nearly 12,000 service members out of Germany after President Donald Trump repeatedly said the country was "delinquent" on defense spending.
Top defense leaders said the plan, which would bring 6,400 service members home and reposition nearly 5,600 to other countries in Europe, is part of the Pentagon's broader effort to redistribute U.S. forces across the world to better compete with new threats from Russia and China. The move will leave 24,000 troops in Germany, where the United States has stationed a significant number of forces since the end of the Cold War......
The move will cost in the “single-digit” billions of dollars, Esper said, and will begin in the coming weeks......
The plan involves moving the headquarters of U.S. European Command and that of Special Operations Command Europe from Germany to Belgium, said EUCOM Commander Gen. Tod Wolters. In the future, the headquarters of U.S. Africa Command and U.S. Special Operations Command Africa could also move from Germany to a new location, he said.
Esper and other top officials argued that the new approach of deploying more rotational forces, as opposed to troops permanently stationed abroad, will enhance deterrence against Russia, improving the readiness of the deployed forces and providing a more flexible, “enduring” presence, particularly in the Black Sea and on NATO’s southeastern flank.....
Many of the 6,400 troops who return to the U.S. will begin conducting rotational deployments. The 4,500 members of the Second Cavalry Regiment in Germany will return to the U.S. as other Stryker units begin rotations in the Black Sea region.
Of the 5,600 troops in Germany who will deploy elsewhere in Europe, roughly 2,000 will go to Belgium to do headquarters work. Another 2,500 airmen currently scheduled to deploy to Germany from the U.K. will remain in the U.K. And a fighter squadron and elements of a fighter wing will be sent to Italy.
Once Warsaw signs a defense cooperation agreement and burden-sharing deal, the U.S. will also rotate a major Army unit to Poland, Esper said. There may be additional opportunities to move forces into Poland and the Baltics in future, he said.
Right now there are no plans to move any of the troops to the Indo-Pacific, Esper said, despite an op-ed in June by national security adviser Robert O’Brien that floated that possibility......