{"id":12537,"date":"2026-06-05T16:31:47","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T16:31:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=12537"},"modified":"2026-06-05T16:31:47","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T16:31:47","slug":"trumps-back-and-forth-on-troops-in-europe-potentially-cost-millions-us-officials-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=12537","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s back-and-forth on troops in Europe potentially cost millions, US officials say"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

By EMMA BURROWS, BEN FINLEY and KONSTANTIN TOROPIN<\/strong><\/p>\n

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 The U.S. military is still waiting for clarity from the Pentagon following President Donald Trump\u2019s back-and-forth on troop levels in Europe, upending the lives of military personnel and potentially costing taxpayers millions of dollars, two U.S. defense officials told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n

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NATO allies were bewildered in May when Trump said he would send 5,000 U.S. troops to Poland just weeks after ordering the same number pulled from Europe, following a spat with Germany\u2019s Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the Iran war. The Trump administration says troop reductions in Europe have long been planned and coordinated with allies.<\/p>\n

The Republican president announced on social media two weeks ago that he was sending troops to Poland \u2014 the same day the Pentagon had officially ordered the cancellation of a rotation of soldiers heading there, one of the defense officials said.<\/p>\n

The unit\u2019s equipment was already on the way. Sending it cost the military $32 million, said U.S. Transportation Command, the military agency largely responsible for moving troops and gear across the globe.<\/p>\n

The abrupt changes are forcing the military to \u201cretroactively engineer\u201d a policy in line with the president\u2019s latest pronouncement, the official said. Both officials were briefed on the decisions and, along with others, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters.<\/p>\n

The uncertainty is not only rattling European allies worried about the message being sent to Russia, but it also risks hurting morale among American troops \u2014 some of whom had their rotations canceled shortly before departure \u2014 and comes as the Army budget is already strained.<\/p>\n

Changes to troop deployments to Poland add up<\/h4>\n

The rotational deployment to Poland of 4,000 troops from the Army\u2019s 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, based in Fort Hood, Texas, was canceled in a memo sent to the military at the beginning of May. European allies found out mid-month.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Some of those troops were told shortly before traveling not to get on a flight to Poland, while those who had been sent ahead \u2014 initially around 1,000 troops \u2014 are still waiting for confirmation they are being sent back, a U.S. military official said.<\/p>\n

The military also is still waiting for details from the Pentagon on how to satisfy Trump\u2019s order to send 5,000 troops to Poland, that official said. The working assumption is that they will come from units already in Europe, rather than an additional deployment from the U.S., the official said.<\/p>\n

U.S. Transportation Command had chartered a ship to take the team\u2019s equipment from Texas to Poland and transport a departing unit\u2019s gear back to America. The incoming team\u2019s portion of the cost was $32 million, including chartering the ship and loading and unloading the gear.<\/p>\n

Because the ship was chartered to take one unit to Europe and bring another back, it is hard to say if that amount would have been saved had the decision to halt the deployment been made before the new team had already begun moving overseas.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

However, the military official said the unscheduled move of personnel and equipment back from Europe is most likely not a cost the Pentagon budgeted for and would be an additional expense.<\/p>\n

Total costs of canceling the rotation are hard to quantify because of many factors, said Joe Costa, a former senior Pentagon official who now focuses on challenges faced by the U.S. military as director of the Atlantic Council\u2019s Forward Defense program.<\/p>\n

They most likely stem from returning equipment and troops sent ahead of the deployment and would probably be on the low end of the rotation\u2019s overall cost, Costa said. The greater impact is on the readiness of troops who were trained for one mission and may be deployed on another, he said.<\/p>\n

U.S. military contracts with private companies to transport troops and equipment contain cancellation clauses that often add extra fees if a deployment is called off, said John Deni, a senior nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council who has studied such costs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe question is what additional costs were incurred by deciding to send them back prematurely, changing the arrangements, changing the plan?\u201d said Deni, a former U.S. military adviser and planner who focused on forces in Europe.<\/p>\n

It is not clear if the Pentagon can recoup those costs or those associated with moving the unit to Europe. The Defense Department did not answer questions about the costs of changing the deployment plans, and the White House referred a request for comment to the department.<\/p>\n

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Pentagon officials have repeatedly said they planned to lower troop levels to have Europe shoulder more of its own defense and that the decision was part of a \u201ccomprehensive, multilayered process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last month\u2019s memo also led to the cancellation of a deployment to Germany of a battalion trained in firing long-range rockets and missiles.<\/p>\n

Pulling troops stationed in Germany would be more expensive<\/h4>\n

When Trump first threatened to remove 5,000 troops from Europe, Pentagon officials initially suggested pulling back the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, which is based permanently in Germany, the defense official said.<\/p>\n

Instead, officials decided to cancel the rotation of the other unit to Poland. Then Trump threw that plan into confusion as well.<\/p>\n

Pulling the troops stationed in Germany could cost in the low billions because there is no dedicated space and infrastructure in the U.S. to accommodate them and their families, Costa said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe other option is basically breaking up the unit,\u201d Costa said. \u201cThey move the equipment in different places. They move the people to different places. That carries significant readiness costs because now you\u2019re artificially jamming pieces of units into places where they don\u2019t necessarily belong.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pulling or pausing deployments also can hurt morale among soldiers and families because they plan for them months and years in advance, Deni said. The uncertainty can be disruptive.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s often the last thing you want to do to military families,\u201d Deni said.<\/p>\n

It is still unclear what will happen to U.S. troops stationed in Europe, the two officials said. Options include moving military units assigned to Germany to Poland, but that could take several years and cost more, the military official said.<\/p>\n

Troop changes happen during an Army budget shortfall<\/h4>\n

The moves come as the Army is facing a budget shortfall, which the service\u2019s top uniformed officer, Gen. Christopher LaNeve, recently acknowledged to Congress.<\/p>\n

Estimates put the deficit somewhere between $2 billion and $6 billion, according to an Army official who also spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive defense matters. One impact has been cutting training courses for soldiers nationwide, which ABC News earlier reported.<\/p>\n

In a statement, the Army said it has issued guidance to its commands to \u201cmake tough and sound resource decisions that optimize and prioritize resources toward their most critical requirements, to include major training and readiness events.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Army official also noted that the service has been tasked with missions like the National Guard deployment in Washington, a bolstered presence along the U.S.-Mexico border and its part in the Iran war \u2014 all of which have strained its budget.<\/p>\n

The Department of Homeland Security expects to reimburse the Army for its role in the border mission.<\/p>\n

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll told lawmakers at a May 15 hearing that he was \u201coptimistic\u201d there would progress on those payments \u201cwithin a week or two.\u201d But to date, the Army has not been reimbursed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want those backfilled payments,\u201d Driscoll said then.<\/p>\n

The U.S. military in Europe also is scaling back support for non-combat related training and ruthlessly prioritizing critical functions, the military official said.<\/p>\n

Read more A Ukrainian maritime drone explodes at a Romanian Black Sea port. No injuries reported<\/a><\/p>\n

Burrows reported from London.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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