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House Armed Services hearing: EUCOM, lawmakers urge keeping U.S. force posture in Europe
Summary
At a House Armed Services Committee hearing, Gen. Christopher Cavoli and a senior Pentagon official recommended maintaining U.S. forces in Europe amid concerns about Russia’s military rebuilding and NATO cohesion; the Department of Defense said a global posture review is ongoing and no decisions have been made.
General Christopher Cavoli, commander of U.S. European Command, told the House Armed Services Committee that he advises “to maintain that force posture, as it is now.” The comment came during a hearing focused on the United States’ military posture in Europe and the threats posed by Russia and other adversaries.
The committee opened with condolences for four U.S. service members who died during a training accident in Lithuania and then turned to questions about force posture, NATO burdensharing and whether the Department of Defense will reduce rotational or forward-deployed units in Europe. Cavoli said U.S. presence in Europe supports deterrence and rapid response and underlines tasks such as anti-submarine operations and missile-defense cooperation that contribute to homeland defense.
Katherine Thompson, performing the duties of Assistant Secretary of Defense for International and Security Affairs, told lawmakers that the department is conducting a global force posture review and that “no decisions have been made at this time.” She said the review will weigh U.S. priorities across theaters and follow presidential guidance. Thompson reiterated the administration’s push for allies to increase defense spending and to take a larger role in sustaining European defense capabilities.
Members of the committee pressed for clarity about specific troop movements and the risks of reducing forces, particularly on NATO’s eastern flank. Cavoli repeated that reducing rotational brigades or prepositioned forces would increase the time and distance required to respond to a crisis and stressed the unique command relationships and basing arrangements that make forward presence effective.
The discussion also returned repeatedly to the NATO command role. Cavoli described the operational advantages of having an American officer as Supreme Allied Commander Europe, saying that an American in that post “has a very loud voice inside Europe” and that allied militaries “want American leadership.”
The department’s posture review, as described by Thompson, remains ongoing. Lawmakers repeatedly asked that Congress be consulted before any major changes to force posture are executed, and several members urged preserving current surge surges and rotational presences until allied capabilities and industrial capacity can reliably carry greater burdens.
