Media: US plans to cut staff at key NATO command centres

The United States plans to scale back the number of personnel it stations at several key NATO command centres, a step that is expected to deepen European unease over Washington’s long-term commitment to the alliance, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The move, which officials said has already been communicated by the Trump administration to some European capitals, will involve cutting about 200 US positions from NATO bodies responsible for planning and overseeing the alliance’s military and intelligence operations. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions were diplomatic and not public.

Among the NATO entities affected are the NATO Intelligence Fusion Centre in the United Kingdom and the Allied Special Operations Forces Command in Brussels. Cuts will also apply to STRIKFORNATO in Portugal, which oversees certain maritime operations, as well as several other similar NATO structures, the sources said.

No formal explanation has been given for the reductions, but the decision broadly aligns with the Trump administration’s stated objective of shifting more US military resources toward the Western Hemisphere.

In absolute terms, the reductions are limited when compared with the overall US military footprint in Europe and do not necessarily indicate a comprehensive drawdown from the continent. Roughly 80,000 US troops are currently stationed in Europe, nearly half of them in Germany. Even so, the move is likely to fuel anxiety among European allies at a time when confidence in the future of the alliance is already strained.

Those concerns have intensified amid President Donald Trump’s renewed campaign to acquire Greenland from Denmark, a push that has raised the unprecedented prospect of territorial pressure within NATO itself. On Tuesday morning, ahead of his planned trip to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, Trump reposted a message on social media that portrayed NATO as a threat to the United States and dismissed China and Russia as mere “boogeymen.”

Responding to questions about the staffing changes, a NATO official said adjustments to US personnel levels are not unusual and emphasised that the American military presence in Europe is larger now than it has been in recent years. The official added that NATO and US authorities remain in close contact to ensure the alliance maintains a strong deterrence and defence posture.

Reuters was unable to obtain a full list of NATO bodies affected by the policy. One source said that about 400 US personnel are currently assigned to the entities facing reductions, meaning the cuts will roughly halve the American presence at those specific commands. Rather than withdrawing personnel already in place, the US is expected in most cases to leave positions unfilled as staff rotate out of their assignments.

The drawdown comes as NATO navigates one of the most diplomatically sensitive periods in its 77-year history. During his first term, Trump repeatedly threatened to withdraw the United States from the alliance and said on the campaign trail that he would encourage Russian President Vladimir Putin to attack NATO members that failed to meet defence spending commitments.

In the first half of 2025, however, Trump appeared to soften his stance, openly praising NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and other European leaders after they agreed at a June summit to increase defence spending. That shift has since given way to renewed alarm across Europe.

In early December, Pentagon officials told European diplomats that Washington expects Europe to assume primary responsibility for most of NATO’s conventional defence capabilities — including intelligence and missile systems — by 2027, a timeline many European officials privately described as unrealistic. Shortly afterwards, a key US national security document called for a greater concentration of American military resources in the Western Hemisphere, raising doubts about whether Europe will remain a top strategic priority.

Tensions have further escalated in early 2026 as Trump revived his long-standing push to acquire Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, angering officials in Copenhagen and across Europe. Many European leaders have warned that any form of territorial aggression within the alliance would undermine NATO’s very foundations.

Over the weekend, Trump said he would impose tariffs on several NATO countries starting February 1 in response to their support for Denmark’s sovereignty over Greenland. That announcement has prompted European Union officials to consider retaliatory trade measures of their own.

By Tamilla Hasanova