Trump's sudden changes in decisions about US troops in Europe could cost American taxpayers dearly

The US military is waiting for clarification from the Pentagon about the situation arising from US President Donald Trump's abrupt reversal of decisions regarding the number of US troops in Europe, two US security officials told the Associated Press (AP) today.

According to them, this situation negatively affects the lives of military personnel and could cost American taxpayers millions of dollars.

NATO allies were completely bewildered in May when Trump announced he would send 5.000 US troops to Poland – just weeks after Trump angrily ordered the same number of troops to be withdrawn from Europe, all after a row with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the US-Israeli war on Iran.

The Trump administration, on the other hand, claims that the reduction in the number of US troops in Europe has long been planned and coordinated with NATO allies.

The Republican president announced on social media two weeks ago that he was sending troops to Poland - the same day the Pentagon officially ordered the cancellation of the deployment of replacement troops who were about to leave for that European country, with the advance party already traveling there, one of the security officials told the AP.

The unit's equipment was already on its way, and sending it cost the military $32 million, according to the US Transportation Command, the military agency that is generally responsible for moving US troops and equipment around the world.

The sudden changes are forcing the military to "retroactively engineer" the policy in line with the president's latest announcement, the official said.

Both officials who spoke to the AP were aware of these decisions and requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the information.

The uncertainty created not only deeply disturbs European allies, who are afraid of the message this behavior sends to Russia, but also endangers the morale of American soldiers, whose rotation with troops in Poland was canceled just before the trip, in the circumstances of an already overstretched military budget.

The rotational deployment of 4.000 soldiers to Poland from the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team and the 1st Cavalry Division, based at Fort Hood, Texas, was canceled in a memo sent to the military in early May. European allies only learned of the decision in mid-month.

Part of that military contingent was told just before boarding that they were not boarding the flight to Poland, and those who had already left as an advance party - about 1.000 soldiers - are still waiting for confirmation that they are returning to the United States, a US military official told the AP.

The US military is still waiting for the Pentagon to provide details on how to comply with Trump's order to send 5.000 troops to Poland, the official added, adding that for now it is working on the assumption that the 5.000 troops will be transferred to Poland not from the US but from US military units stationed in Europe.

The US Transportation Command chartered a ship to transport the rotational team's equipment from Texas to Poland and to return the equipment of soldiers returning from Poland to the US. The transfer of the rotational unit's equipment costs $32 million, which includes chartering the ship, loading and unloading the equipment.

Since the same ship is supposed to transport one unit to Europe and return another one there to its homeland, it is difficult to say how much financial savings would have been achieved if the decision to stop sending the rotational unit had been made before its transfer had already begun.

However, according to a military official, the unplanned relocation of personnel and equipment from Europe to the US is most likely not budgeted for by the Pentagon and would be an additional expense.

Pentagon officials have repeatedly said they plan to reduce the number of troops in Europe so that it can shoulder more of the burden of its own defense. They have also said the decision is part of a "comprehensive, multi-layered process."

Last month's Pentagon memorandum canceled not only the scheduled rotation of US troops in Poland, but also the sending of a battalion trained to fire long-range rockets and missiles to Germany.

When Trump first threatened to withdraw 5.000 troops from Europe, Pentagon officials' initial plan was to withdraw troops from the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, which is permanently stationed in Germany, an anonymous defense official said. Instead, officials decided to cancel the rotation of an entirely different unit, stationed in Poland.

Then Trump created confusion with that new plan.

It is not yet clear what will happen to US troops deployed in Europe, two officials said. Options include moving military units from Germany to Poland, but that could take several years and cost more, one of the officials said.

All of this is happening when the military is facing a budget deficit, which was recently confirmed in the testimony of Deputy Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Army, Christopher La Nieva, before Congress.

Repatriating troops stationed in Germany could cost billions of dollars because the United States lacks the space and infrastructure to house them and their families, said Joe Costa, a former senior Pentagon official who is now director of the Defense Advancement Program at the Atlantic Council.

"The second option is essentially breaking up the unit. They move equipment to different places," said Kosta, noting that this significantly affects combat readiness because then you are artificially pushing parts of the units into places where they don't belong.

Security experts point out that suspending or postponing deployments can also, through the uncertainty it brings, negatively impact the morale of soldiers and their families, as they prepare for it months and years in advance.