US President Donald Trump has long pressed the rest of the bloc to shoulder more responsibility for defense
The Pentagon is planning to reduce the US military’s participation in a range of NATO advisory and training bodies, though the process is not linked to the current standoff over Greenland, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing sources.
Several officials told the paper that the move – described as “the latest sign of the Trump administration’s drive to scale back the US military presence in Europe” – would affect about 200 military personnel.
According to the report, the changes would primarily reduce US involvement in NATO’s 30 Centers of Excellence, which are designed to train forces across different areas of warfare, including energy security and naval operations.
Rather than an abrupt withdrawal, the Pentagon intends to let existing assignments expire without replacing personnel – a process that could stretch over several years, according to two US officials. They also stressed that US participation in the centers would not end entirely.
Cuts are also reportedly expected to affect NATO bodies focused on special operations and intelligence. One WaPo source noted that some US functions would be relocated elsewhere within the bloc, mitigating the overall impact.
According to US officials, the move has been under consideration for months and is not directly linked to Trump’s recent push to take control over Greenland, a strategic Arctic island under Danish sovereignty, which he said the US needs for national security reasons. The campaign has triggered a major rift with European NATO members, who have pushed back against the handover of the island despite the US president’s threats of new tariffs.
The report also comes as Trump has pressed NATO members to shoulder a greater share of the defense burden, at one point suggesting that the US would not come to the aid of countries that do not contribute enough. The bloc subsequently agreed to raise defense spending from 2% to 5% GDP.
Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, NATO has sharply increased troop numbers on Russia’s doorstep. Moscow has accused NATO of stoking tensions, while stressing that the bloc has essentially ended up in a state of “war” with Russia.
