The Pentagon has abruptly and without explanation suspended the planned deployment of 4,000 US troops to Poland
The deployment was halted even though most of the equipment had already been flown to Europe, a defense official was quoted as saying by Stars and Stripes and Defensenews.
The deployment of a US Army armored brigade to Poland, which was already underway, has been suspended, a US Defense Department official confirmed Wednesday, quoted by the military publication Stars and Stripes.
The 2nd Armored Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division began deployment from Fort Hood, Texas, a week ago, marking what was supposed to be the start of a nine-month mission to deter Russian aggression in Europe.
Nearly 4,000 soldiers from the “Black Jack” brigade were to take up positions in Poland and elsewhere on NATO's eastern flank.
The deployment was halted even though most of the equipment had already been flown to Europe, the defense official said.
It is unclear whether this suspension means that the entire event will be canceled or that it could resume at some point.
Commander Javan Rasnake, a Pentagon spokesman, said the Defense Department had “nothing to announce at this time.”
This reorganization comes as the military recently announced other plans to withdraw about 5,000 troops from Germany.
Several countries in Eastern Europe have announced they are ready to receive the soldiers who will leave Germany, and President Donald Trump has even suggested that they could end up in Poland.
More than 10,000 US troops are stationed in Poland on a rotating basis.
Since Russia's large-scale attack in Ukraine in 2022, US forces have increased.
There are currently about 85,000 troops in total, with about 15,000-20,000 on temporary assignments as forces rotate between the United States and Europe.
In October, the Pentagon began downsizing when it ended the 101st Airborne Division's 2nd Brigade's rotational mission to Romania and elsewhere on NATO's eastern flank.
If the planned deployment of the Black Jack brigade were to be permanently ended, along with subsequent rotations, it would bring forces in Europe back to roughly the level they were before the conflict between Russia and Ukraine degenerated into full-scale war more than four years ago.
Last year, former Polish President Andrzej Duda said he had received assurances from Donald Trump that the US would not withdraw troops from Poland.
