BERLIN (AP) – Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced on Tuesday that it is expanding the U.S. military presence in Germany by 500 troops and has stopped planning large-scale cuts in troops ordered by the Trump administration.
Adding 500 soldiers to a current total of about 35,000 is a symbolic gesture of solidarity with Germany and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, but it also fulfills a practical need that European commanders had identified months ago. Austin said the additional troops will play a role in space, cybersecurity and electronic warfare.
“This projected increase in U.S. personnel underscores our commitment to Germany and the entire NATO alliance,” Austin said in a remarkable counterpoint to the Trump administration’s repeated complaints that Germany is a weak partner in defense. and security.
Austin made the announcement after talks with German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer on her first European tour since he became head of the Pentagon in January.
Kramp-Karrenbauer welcomed the announcement as a “strong signal” of a healthy relationship between the United States and Germany.
They also discussed what was then a pending decision by President Joe Biden on whether to withdraw completely from Afghanistan. U.S. officials say hours after Biden decided to withdraw troops from Afghanistan before 9/11, the twentieth anniversary of the 2001 attacks, missing a May 1 deadline negotiated by the Trump administration. Germany is a key part of the US-led coalition in Afghanistan.
On Wednesday, Austin plans to travel to NATO headquarters in Brussels to discuss Biden’s decision.
In his statements in Berlin, Austin said at a joint press conference with Kramp-Karrenbauer that the additional 500 U.S. troops in Germany will be permanently stationed in the Wiesbaden area as early as this fall.
“These forces will strengthen deterrence and defense in Europe. They will increase our existing skills to prevent conflict and, if necessary, fight and win, ”Austin said in prepared statements.
“This move will also create more space, more cyber and more electronic warfare capabilities in Europe,” he added, adding that “it will greatly improve our ability to increase forces at an earlier time to defend our allies.”
Last year, President Donald Trump ordered the withdrawal of 12,000 troops from Germany as retribution for what he considered Germany’s refusal to spend more on its own defense. Austin suspended this move shortly after taking office. He said decisions on troop levels would be made as part of a thorough review of the U.S. military presence around the world, including Europe.
Austin’s announcement Tuesday is the first concrete indication that he will not carry out Trump’s decision, which included the relocation of the headquarters of the US European command from Germany to Belgium.
Asked by a reporter if the decision to add 500 troops means Washington will not carry out the Trump move, Austin said the Pentagon “stopped planning” the troop reduction.
The German minister said she had Biden’s word that “there will be no reduction of troops as previously planned.”
“Today I received the pleasant announcement and the guarantee from Secretary Austin that, instead, 500 more will be parked there,” he said. “That’s how it should be between good friends and colleagues: give yourself your word and keep it.”
According to the US Army Europe and Africa, troops will form two new military units and will arrive in the coming months. They will include a multidomain working group, with artillery, air and missile defense, intelligence, cyber, space and electronic capabilities, as well as a theatrical fire command that will improve the preparedness and capacity of the forces to work with the allies of the region. .
Colonel Joe Scrocca, a spokesman for the U.S. military in Europe and Africa, said the new orders are expected to be activated in September and October.
In addition, the U.S. will retain three seats that previously had to be returned to the German government. They are the Mainz Kastel station and the Mainz Kastel apartment in Mainz-Kastel and the Dagger complex in Darmstadt.
“New strategies and a constantly changing operating environment require more capacity to ensure we have the infrastructure to increase capacity to support our allies and partners,” said Commander-in-Chief Chris Mohan, Commander-in-Chief of 21st Theater Support Support Command. “We have worked closely with German officials to reach an agreement on the conservation of these sites and we are grateful for their continued support.”
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Associated Press writers Geir Moulson in Berlin and Lolita C. Baldor in Washington contributed to this report.