The United States intends to move some of its armed forces from Germany to Poland, announced Polish Minister of defense Mariusz Błaszczak in a celebratory message on Twitter.
“Everything according to plan! There will be more U.S. troops in Poland and the most important Ground Force Command in our region will be established. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper has confirmed the agreements and has pointed to an even further expansion of US numbers in Poland,” he wrote.
Wszystko zgodnie z planem! W Polsce będzie więcej żołnierzy USA oraz powstanie najważniejsze w naszym regionie Dowództwo Sił Lądowych ??. Sekretarz @EsperDoD potwierdził dziś nasze ustalenia i wskazał na możliwość dalszego zwiększenia liczebności amerykańskich żołnierzy w ?? pic.twitter.com/y6SwEyLcaf
— Mariusz Błaszczak (@mblaszczak) July 29, 2020
The U.S. Department of Defense will transfer approximately 6,400 troops back home and 5,400 to other European countries, according to the Associated Press.
The Department of Defense also announced a detailed Pentagon plan, which will cost billions of dollars. One of the main benefactors of this program will be Poland.
This decision is the fulfillment of President Donald Trump’s announced withdrawal of U.S. troops from Germany due to the country’s insufficient spending on defense.
U.S. official stated that the first movements will be made in a few months, and they will most likely send air and ground forces to other countries that already have a U.S. military presence. Approximately 25,000 troops are to remain in Germany.
The announcement is also closely associated with the plan to increase the U.S. military presence in Poland, a development that Law and Justice (PiS) and President Andrzej Duda have sought for years. Polish officials, who preferred to remain anonymous, believe that the transfers will cost “billions” and will require the construction of U.S. bases to host the new troops.
The officials stated that in the future other forces will rotate in Europe and beyond.
The U.S. has a total of 47,000 troops and civil personnel in Germany which are distributed in many bases, headquarters and smaller locations.
The majority of 35,000 active soldiers are located in a few larger bases. The U.S. Air Force is concentrated at the Ramstein Air Base.
Another 2,600 National Guard and Reserve are also present in Germany, as well as close to 12,000 civilians working for the Department of Defense.
