Will US troops remain in Poland? The deputy head of the Pentagon spoke out

We will absolutely implement President Donald Trump's guidelines regarding American troops in Poland, Elbridge Colby, deputy head of the Pentagon for political affairs, said in the House of Representatives on Thursday. He referred in this way to the words of the US president said during a meeting with President Karol Nawrocki.

Colby, who appears on Thursday before the House Armed Services Committee on U.S. military strategy and deployment, assured the committee that, as Trump said during last year's meeting with Nawrocki, the number of U.S. troops in Poland will remain at least at its current level.

– Mr. Chairman, you can be sure that I will absolutely implement the president's directives on this matter, as on others, Colby told the committee chairman, Republican Mike Rogers, who asked him about the matter. However, when asked whether this means that the level of US forces in Europe will not fall below the current four brigades, including two in Poland, Colby did not answer directly.

– So I want to maintain the president's decision-making freedom. I would have to go back and carefully analyze what the president said and what instructions he gave us, but (…) we will proudly and emphatically ensure that our actions are closely linked (to the president's will), said the deputy head of the Pentagon.

During Nawrocki's visit to the White House in October 2025, Trump declared that US troops would remain in Poland, adding that “we will put more there if you want.”

Rogers criticized Colby and the Pentagon for last year's decision to withdraw a U.S. brigade from Romania, accusing him of doing so against the advice of U.S. commanders in Europe and without consulting Congress and allies. He also recalled that this decision was announced just after Trump announced that if the deployment of forces in Europe would change, it would only change to a small extent.

“The brigade isn't much, but you did it anyway,” Rogers accused him.

Colby replied that he was not making the decision personally and said all Pentagon decisions were in line with the president's guidance. He also claimed that, despite what commanders in Europe were saying in Congress about troop deployments, he had heard different advice from them in internal discussions. He also cited the opinion of a European official heard a few weeks ago, who praised this decision.

“I won't quote the person directly, but a very important, senior European official said it was actually a very positive signal (for Europe),” Colby said.

From Washington Oskar Górzyński (PAP)

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