How American soldiers ended up in Europe – and why its bad for both the US and EU if they leave
by https://euobserver.com/author/anastasiia-furman/ · EUobserverAmerican soldiers at the Ramstein base in Germany. Friendships—and sometimes even family ties—developed between Germans and Americans thanks to the deployment of soldiers across generations. Source: Trevor Calvert, U.S. Air Force.
How American soldiers ended up in Europe – and why its bad for both the US and EU if they leave
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By Anastasiia Furman,
Prague
,
US president Donald Trump is talking about withdrawing more than 5,000 US soldiers from Germany. He is also suggesting that their numbers will be reduced in Spain and Italy. This raises the question: how did US forces end up in Europe in the first place? And why should it trouble European countries if they leave?
“We love our Americans – they enrich our community in every respect and make life more colourful,” Nadine Firmont from the German town of Landstuhl said. It is here, in the south-west of the country, that the largest US military community outside the United States lives, according to the Guardian.
“It would be a great shame if they left. It would hurt,” the woman added.
At the end of last year, the United States had approximately 68,000 active-duty soldiers permanently stationed at its military bases in Europe. Together with those deployed there only temporarily, however, their total number could have risen to as many as 100,000.
More than half of the permanently stationed soldiers – roughly 36,400 – were based in Germany.
US–German interdependence at risk
Around the US bases, an extensive network of jobs linked to the presence of Americans gradually emerged – from German suppliers and employees of the army itself to restaurants, shops, and other businesses dependent on US customers. For example, in the aforementioned Landstuhl, there is the largest US hospital outside the territory of the United States.
Coexistence between the communities, however, did not remain limited to economic ties. Across generations, friendships – and sometimes even family relationships – have developed here between Germans and Americans.
Now this interdependence is at risk.
Trump’s decision was preceded by comments by German chancellor Friedrich Merz on the war in Iran and by his long-standing criticism of Europe for, in his view, failing to help the United States in the conflict in the Middle East and contributing insufficiently to its own defence.
Any further reduction in the number of US soldiers is, however, constrained by US law.
Congress has stipulated that there may not be fewer than 76,000 of them in Europe for longer than 45 days, unless US officials, among other things, confirm that such a step is in the national security interest of the United States and that it has been consulted with Nato members.
Where they are and how many there are
US forces in Europe consist of the army, navy, marine corps, air force, special forces and, more recently, a component focused on operations in outer space. They operate primarily from Germany and Italy and focus on crisis response and security cooperation across Europe and Africa.
Their importance in Europe is also illustrated by a lesser-known fact: according to estimates, roughly one hundred B61 gravity bombs, which are smaller tactical nuclear weapons, are deployed in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, and Turkey. None of these countries, however, can use them without US consent.
From north-western Greenland to Turkey, there are more than 40 US military bases. The largest of them is the Ramstein air base in Germany, where US soldiers have been stationed since 1952.
Italy ranks second, with more than 12,000 US soldiers. Units have been stationed in the country since the end of WW2, mainly at bases in Vicenza, Aviano, Naples, and Sicily.
Next comes the United Kingdom, where, by the end of last year, the United States had more than 10,000 soldiers, mostly air force personnel concentrated at three bases.
- Spain – 3,814 soldiers. The United States mainly uses naval and air bases here in the area of the Strait of Gibraltar.
- Poland – 369 soldiers and roughly 10,000 members of rotational units funded by the European Deterrence Initiative, which aims to strengthen the security of Nato members. The Americans have access to four bases in the country.
- Romania – in addition to 153 soldiers, it also hosts rotational units.
- Hungary – 77 soldiers. The US army operates here mainly through rotational missions and exercises, especially at the Kecskemét and Pápa bases.
Efforts to counter the threat from the east
The current US military presence in Europe has its roots in the period after the second world war, when the transatlantic alliance began to take shape.
At that time, the United States helped to stabilise and rebuild the continent, among other things through the ‘Marshall Plan’. At the same time, it sought to prevent the spread of communist influence.
At the end of the second world war, the number of US soldiers in Europe was almost 1.9 million, but by 1949 it had fallen to 79,000.
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American soldiers at the Ramstein base in Germany. Friendships—and sometimes even family ties—developed between Germans and Americans thanks to the deployment of soldiers across generations. Source: Trevor Calvert, U.S. Air Force.
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Author Bio
Anastasiia Furman is a reporter for Deník N based in Prague. She covers developments in the European Union, its member states, and EU enlargement. She also writes about the United States and the Western Balkans — a region that has captivated her, likely once and for all. She studied law in Kyiv, Ukraine, and journalism and international relations in Brno, Czech republic.
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