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House Armed Services hearing: leaders press for sustained U.S. posture in Europe as allies rearm
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Summary
House Armed Services members pressed U.S. defense officials on maintaining forces in Europe, urged allies to translate pledged spending into capability, and discussed permanent stationing in Poland and Romania's recent base investments.
Chairman Rogers opened a posture hearing by saying the United States faces multiple simultaneous threats from Russia, Iran and China and warned against a premature reduction of forces in Europe. "That is why last year's NDA mandates consultation with Congress before making any reductions in US forces in Europe," he said, arguing that sudden withdrawals would create a deterrence gap.
The committee heard from Daniel Zimmerman, assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, and General Alexis Grinkovich, commander of U.S. European Command. Zimmerman framed the department's approach within the National Defense Strategy and urged allies to assume greater responsibility for conventional defense as the U.S. prioritizes homeland defense and deterrence.
General Grinkovich outlined three EUCOM priorities: protecting the U.S. homeland, projecting combat power, and positioning NATO to deter and defend. He emphasized that existing basing and prepositioned stocks give the president options for rapid response and noted ongoing operations such as Operation Midnight Hammer and Operation Epic Fury as evidence of that capability.
Members highlighted concrete indicators of allied burden sharing: the chair pointed to Romania's investments, saying, "Romania has invested over 2,000,000,000 to improve their bases and runways for American use," and several members noted that multiple allies have increased defense spending. Grinkovich said, "For the first time in a long time, money is not the problem in Europe," but cautioned that industrial production and long lead times will delay full capability fielding.
Several members asked whether the two rotational U.S. armored brigade combat teams in Poland should be permanently stationed there. Grinkovich said there are advantages to permanent stationing but also noted benefits to rotational forces; he recommended weighing family and force management trade-offs alongside strategic signaling.
Members and witnesses also discussed prepositioned equipment, procedures for transferring material to allies, and the importance of interoperability and coproduction to accelerate allied capability. The public portion of the hearing concluded with the committee adjourning to a classified session for operational details and threat assessments.
The committee left in place a clear bipartisan concern: maintain credible U.S. posture in Europe while accelerating allied capability, and balance permanent commitments against operational flexibility. The hearing will continue in closed session for classified operational matters.
