U.S. soldiers assigned to NATO Multinational Battle Group Poland take part in a ruck march at the Bemowo Piskie Training Area on May 26, 2025. Polish President Karol Nawrocki said Wednesday that the country is ready to host American troops withdrawn from Germany and pledged to lobby for their relocation to Poland. (Christopher Saunders/U.S. Army)
STUTTGART, Germany — U.S. allies on NATO’s eastern flank plan to lobby President Donald Trump to shift troops from Germany to their countries.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki, speaking during a military exercise Wednesday in Lithuania, said his country is best-positioned to take on more American forces.
“We have the necessary infrastructure,” Nawrocki said during news conference. “I will encourage Trump to ensure that these soldiers remain in Europe.”
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda made a similar argument during the joint news conference.
A U.S. soldier from a color guard team carries the Polish flag during a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on Sept. 3, 2025. Polish President Karol Nawrocki said Wednesday that Poland is ready to host American troops withdrawn from Germany. (Elizabeth Fraser/U.S. Army)
“We in Lithuania are ready to host as many allies as we are capable of,” Nauseda said. “And to this end, we are developing all the necessary infrastructure both for exercises and for the deployment of troops.”
Their bid for a larger American presence comes after the Pentagon announced last week that the United States will pull 5,000 troops from Germany.
Nauseda added that about 1,000 American soldiers are carrying out missions in the country on a rotational basis.
The two leaders were speaking during the Brave Griffin military exercise near the Suwalki Gap. The narrow corridor between the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad and Kremlin ally Belarus is regarded by many as NATO’s most vulnerable area.
Although the Pentagon hasn’t publicly stated which unit will be removed, defense officials have told various news outlets that it involves a brigade combat team.
Given that the 2nd Cavalry Regiment is the only such force in Germany, the Vilseck-based unit appears to be targeted. Still, questions remain about where such a unit could realistically go.
While allies such as Poland are clamoring for more U.S. troops, most locations where U.S. forces currently operate in the country are geared toward rotational units and lack the infrastructure needed to host a permanent brigade of nearly 5,000 soldiers along with hundreds of spouses and children.
For comparison, the Army’s garrison in Vilseck has schools, a commissary and other tax-free shopping facilities. The Army has invested heavily in other quality-of-life measures, including modernized family housing units.
Matching the infrastructure at Vilseck’s Rose Barracks in Poland or Lithuania would require a major investment in a rapid time frame.
U.S. Army Capt. Colten Kennedy gives a briefing during the Saber Strike exercise at the Bemowo Piskie Training Area in Poland on May 5, 2026. Polish officials say talks with Washington over expanding the U.S. military presence are already underway, though Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said the country should not “poach” troops from European allies. (Emilie Lenglain/U.S. Army)
In its announcement last week, the Pentagon said it planned to complete the Germany withdrawal within a year, leaving little time to build the necessary infrastructure in Poland or elsewhere on NATO’s eastern flank.
Trump, meanwhile, has given no indication where he would want to place any troops that are removed from Germany.
The United States has about 85,000 troops in Europe, with roughly 15,000 to 20,000 of them serving on a rotational basis. Germany has the most, with numbers ranging between 34,000 and 38,000 at any given time.
Trump’s decision came after Chancellor Friedrich Merz repeatedly criticized the U.S. handling of the Iran war. In response, Trump blasted the German leader and warned that more troops cuts in Germany and other parts of Europe could be coming.