US Considers Transferring Troops From Germany to Romania

The U.S. troops that will soon leave Germany may be relocating to Romania and the Baltics, according to Stars and Stripes.

“We see putting more rotational forces into the Black Sea region, Romania in particular,” Esper said on Tuesday.

The U.S. military is looking to beef up its presence in Romania to expand troop rotations in Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base and Campia Turzii Air Base, which has a growing number of U.S. Air Force personnel.

“Germany has to pay,” Trump said on Fox News hours after the plan was unveiled. “Germany is a wealthy country and they have to pay and we’re not going to have 52,000 troops in Germany where they make a fortune off of the troops. You know they built cities around our troops.”

The Pentagon is preparing to transfer the 4,500 troops in the 2nd Cavalry Regiment from Vilseck, Germany back to the U.S. Esper said those forces from that unit will rotate back to Europe. His plan is to cut roughly 12,000 troops from Germany.

The Pentagon has been rotating a U.S.-based armored brigade to Europe every nine months. So, the Army will need to handle rotations with two brigades.

Pentagon officials said taking troops from Germany will cost billions.

The move to dial back troops follows calls from President Donald Trump for the U.S. to reduce its military presence in Germany, which he said doesn't contribute its fair share toward its NATO obligations.

Currently, 36,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Germany, with another 16,000 civilians supporting the military.

• Pentagon Plan to Pull 12,000 Troops From Germany Will Cost Billions
• Germany Unaware of US Plan to Withdraw Troops