U.S. President Donald Trump gestures at a Small Business Summit at the White House in Washington, May 4. EPA-Yonhap
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump’s vow to shrink America’s military deployment in Germany has put a new spotlight on the U.S. role in Europe.
There are usually 80,000 to 100,000 troops on the continent, with more than 36,000 in Germany. The Pentagon announced Friday that it would remove 5,000 troops from Germany, and Trump said the next day that he would go “a lot further” than that.
The U.S. military presence is a legacy of World War II, when Americans helped stabilize and rebuild Europe, and the Cold War, when the troops served as a bulwark against Soviet expansion. More recently, the deployment has played a key role supporting operations in the Arctic, Africa and the Middle East including the current conflict with Iran.
But Trump has broken with years of bipartisan consensus, criticizing European allies in NATO and following through on threats to reduce the U.S. commitment to the continent's security. The recent announcement comes after escalating tensions with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who last week said the U.S. was being “humiliated” by Iran and accused Washington of lacking a clear strategy.
Here's a look at America's current deployment in Europe and how it could change.
What to know about US defense posture in Europe
The U.S. European Command, created in 1947 and known as EUCOM, is one of 11 combat commands within the Defense Department, and covers some 50 countries and territories.
In addition to more than 36,000 troops in Germany, Italy hosts more than 12,000 and there's another 10,000 in the United Kingdom, according to Pentagon numbers from December.
United States' Air Force transport aircrafts are seen on the tarmac at Ramstein U.S. air base, in Landstuhl, Germany, June 23, 2025. AP-Yonhap
Source: Korea Times News
