Polish security chief calls for expansion of training facilities to secure US troop presence

Lieutenant General Dariusz Łukowski, the outgoing head of Poland’s National Security Bureau, has emphasised the urgent need to build new military training facilities in Poland to better support the presence of US troops and reduce the risk of future drawdowns.

In an interview with Rzeczpospolita, Łukowski said that American forces currently lack access to adequate infrastructure in Poland, which prevents them from carrying out their full range of combat training activities. He noted that the most advanced facility available to US troops in Europe remains the training ground in Hohenfels, Germany, and argued that Poland should urgently develop comparable sites to offer to its allies, Caliber.Az reports. 

Łukowski pointed out that while Poland has succeeded in creating comfortable conditions for American personnel and established favourable financing arrangements for their maintenance, the country still faces major limitations.

One of the main challenges, he explained, is the limited availability of training areas, which must also be used by Poland’s own growing armed forces. As a result, infrastructure constraints are hampering the full operational potential of the US presence.

He also acknowledged the possibility of a reduction in US forces in Europe as Washington shifts greater strategic focus to the Pacific. According to Łukowski, this risk was real and recognised by Polish officials, though the scale and specific locations of any future reduction remain uncertain. He cautioned that despite political assessments indicating the need to maintain forces along NATO’s eastern flank, the rotational nature of the US deployment in Poland makes it especially vulnerable to cuts.

Łukowski explained that the American presence in Poland is largely temporary, with troops stationed without their families, which makes it logistically easier for the US to withdraw them if needed. He stressed that the current arrangement does not involve a large permanent presence, further increasing the risk of reductions.

Currently, a total of about 10,000 troops of the US armed forces are stationed in Poland, primarily as part of a rotational presence.

By Sabina Mammadli