The Pentagon leadership plans to reduce the participation of US armed forces in approximately 30 NATO mechanisms.
The Washington Post reported, citing its own sources, that this is a new step by the Trump administration to reduce the US military presence in Europe.
“The upcoming move will affect about 200 military personnel and weaken US participation in nearly 30 NATO organizations, including centers of excellence that train Alliance forces in various combat zones, the sources said“, the newspaper notes. Two sources indicated that the Pentagon plans not to send personnel to replace those whose mandates will gradually expire. The process could therefore drag on for years.
According to the newspaper's sources, the proposal concerns reducing American participation in advisory groups on energy security, maritime warfare, special operations and intelligence. The sources stressed that the move has been under consideration for several months and is not related to the escalating tensions between the United States and Denmark, as well as other NATO allies, over Greenland.
In 2025, the Pentagon withdrew a brigade from the US Army's 101st Airborne Division from Romania to its permanent base. These troops returned to Kentucky.
In late 2025, Congress approved a defense budget that explicitly prohibited the Pentagon from reducing the number of US troops stationed in Europe to less than 76,000 for more than 45 days.