Overview
- The plan targets roles at the NATO Intelligence Fusion Centre in the UK, Allied Special Operations Forces Command in Brussels, and Portugal-based STRIKFORNATO, along with nearly 30 other organizations including Centers of Excellence.
- Officials say billets will mostly be eliminated by not backfilling rotating personnel, a process that could unfold over years rather than immediate recalls.
- A NATO official described such staffing adjustments as routine and noted U.S. force levels in Europe remain about 80,000, higher than in recent years.
- Sources say the move aligns with the administration’s stated reallocation of military focus toward the Western Hemisphere, while European concerns have grown following President Trump’s Greenland push, tariff threats, and a repost calling NATO a threat.
- The White House and Pentagon offered no comment, and lawmakers have signaled scrutiny, with a law requiring Pentagon consultation before any broader drawdown below 76,000 U.S. personnel in Europe.