The Pentagon wants to remove 5,000 American soldiers from Germany in the coming year. The official reason is a “thorough review” of the deployment of US forces in Europe, a Pentagon spokesman said.
The real reason is the increasing tension in the German-American relationship, following statements by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU). That also points out the announcement President Donald Trump has announced that import duties on European cars and trucks will be increased to 25 percent from next week, which will hit German industry especially hard.
On Monday, Merz said while visiting a school in the Sauerland that the US is “humiliated” by Iran. The chancellor also said, as on previous occasions, that the US has no strategy. The fact that Merz is not impressed by American military planning was therefore not news, but the “humiliation” was not well received in Washington. Trump responded on his Truth Social platform that Germany is “broken”. and that Merz is not getting anything done, not at home or in ending the war in Ukraine. Trump also announced an investigation into the stationing of American soldiers in Germany.
Barely two days later, that investigation was completed, with the conclusion that Germany would have to make do with five thousand fewer American soldiers. Now there are about 36,000 Americans stationed in Germany; in Europe a total of about 85,000.
Congress wants to keep soldiers in Europe
In his previous term, Trump already wanted to reduce the number of soldiers in Germany; At the time he wanted to move 12,000 soldiers because, according to him, Germany was investing too little in defense. Trump’s successor Joe Biden put a stop to that. In 2025, the US Congress stipulated that the total number of US military personnel in Europe may not be lower than 76,000. Legally, there would still be room for a small retreat from Germany.
The American military presence in Germany began with the end of World War II and was of great importance to NATO in the Cold War. Most American bases are in the south of the country. Ramstein Air Base, in Rhineland-Palatinate, is the most important in Germany. Drones in the Middle East are controlled from Ramstein, and the largest military hospital outside the US is also located at Ramstein. Other important bases are Stuttgart, from where missions in Africa and Europe are coordinated, and Grafenwöhr in Bavaria.
In many cases, there is extensive infrastructure on and around the bases for American military personnel and their families, such as childcare and schools, fast food chains and bowling alleys. The mayor of the village of Ramstein, next to the air base of the same name, estimated the economic contribution to the region through the American presence of more than 2 billion dollars, including through employment and assignments to local entrepreneurs.
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The German reactions to the announcement from the Pentagon have so far sounded resigned. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) told the DPA news agency that the decision had been “foreseeable”. Moreover, he emphasized that the Americans also have a great interest in their positions in Europe. The Americans need European bases precisely for their missions in the Middle East. Pistorius: “We work closely with the Americans, in Ramstein, in Grafenwöhr, in Frankfurt and elsewhere.”
Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU) had already said on Thursday that the government in Berlin is preparing for a reduction in the number of American soldiers. According to Wadephul, it is “no secret” that the US is increasingly focusing on China and the Pacific, and not just since President Trump’s return to the White House.
If they are moved to Eastern Europe or the Baltic states, that will be bad luck for Germany, but not so bad for NATO
Defense expert Carlo Masala pointed in Welt am Sonntag It is not yet clear where the 5,000 soldiers from Germany will go. “If they are moved to Eastern Europe or to the Baltic states, that will be bad luck for Germany, but not so bad for NATO.” If the soldiers are brought back to the US, it will be a clearer sign of NATO’s weakness vis-à-vis Russia in particular.
Masala finds the report in American media that the Pentagon does not want to station long-range missiles in Germany, about which President Biden and then Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) made agreements in 2024, more serious. According to Masala, this creates a gap in deterrence vis-à-vis Russia.
