Reports emerged in December that the Pentagon planned to shuffle various commands as part of an organizational restructuring. According to The Independent, this included a plan to place U.S. Central Command, U.S. European Command, and U.S. Africa Command under a new umbrella organization, U.S. International Command. However, NOTUS reported this week that the move would effectively downgrade the U.S. Army Europe and Africa command and replace its leader, General Chris Donahue. The move is part of an overhaul of the U.S. footprint in Europe—a move that has escalated tensions between the Trump administration and NATO after the U.S. accused European allies of not doing enough to help re-open the Strait of Hormuz amid the ongoing war with Iran. Hegseth has carried out a significant shake-up of military command since taking over at the Pentagon, ousting a dozen senior military officers as of last month. Some Republican lawmakers have increasingly spoken out about the changes taking place under Hegseth's tenure, adding rare intraparty friction to an administration already facing pressure from many quarters.

Tillis Says Hegseth's Decisions Are Not 'Good Judgment'

Tillis, who is retiring after his tenure in the Senate ends in January 2027, posted a lengthy statement on X, warning that Hegseth continues to "disrespect our greatest allies and some of our best military professionals with impulsive decisions not grounded in reality or good judgment." "If the rumors are true that Hegseth is trying to sideline General Chris Donahue, one of our nation’s finest warfighters, by downgrading U.S. Army Europe-Africa to a 3-star command, he is taking another step down a dangerous path," Tillis wrote, calling it "a step that is not in the best interests of our nation or our servicemembers." "Hegseth would do well to surround himself with more patriots like General Donahue and to get his henchmen, who are not qualified to carry Donahue's bag, out of the Pentagon," the senator added. "Keep your word, Mr. Secretary: choose meritocracy over your mediocre yes-men." Newsweek reached out to the Pentagon by email on Saturday afternoon for comment.

Who Is General Chris Donahue?

General Christopher Donahue is a senior U.S. Army officer who has held a series of high‑level command roles and is most widely known for his role in the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. He gained public prominence for being the last U.S. service member to leave Afghanistan, boarding the final military aircraft on August 30, 2021, as American forces ended their 20‑year presence in the country. His achievements include:

• Commanding the 82nd Airborne Division: Leading troops in the final phase of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
• Securing Kabul’s Airport: Overseeing forces tasked with evacuating U.S. personnel and Afghan civilians.
• Leading Troops in Eastern Europe: Managing deployments amid rising regional tensions, highlighting his vital role in broader NATO-related operations.

Tillis named Donahue as a military officer who has "dedicated his entire career to upholding the high standards and warrior ethos that Hegseth claims he is restoring to our ranks." "[Donahue] deployed over 20 times in support of Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, New Dawn, Inherent Resolve, Atlantic Resolve, Freedom’s Sentinel, European Assure, Deter and Reinforce, and in support of the Sudan crisis," Tillis wrote.

Hegseth's Overhaul of Military Command

According to public reports and Pentagon confirmations since the start of the second Trump administration, Hegseth has removed several high-profile military commanders from their posts, including:

• General Charles “CQ” Brown Jr.—Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
• General Randy George—Army Chief of Staff
• Admiral Lisa Franchetti—Chief of Naval Operations
• General James “Jim” Slife—Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force
• General David Hodne—Head of Army Training and Doctrine Command
• Major General William Green Jr.—Army Chief of Chaplains
• Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse—Director, Defense Intelligence Agency
• Vice Admiral Nancy Lacore—Chief of the Navy Reserve
• Rear Adm. Milton Sands—Commander, Naval Special Warfare Command

Acting Army Chief of Staff Gen. Christopher LaNeve said in an Army budget hearing that the order to halt a planned 9-month rotation to Europe by 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division to Eastern Europe came from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. LaNeve and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll said they were informed of the order and had been consulted, but they wouldn’t provide the exact timing of the decision. On May 1, the unit had cased its colors in preparation for deployment, dispatched its advanced team and launched its equipment overseas. Soldiers began discussing the decision to scrap the deployment publicly early Tuesday morning; the order was confirmed Wednesday by Army Times and other news media. LaNeve said the decision was made “in the last two weeks” by the Defense Department and Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, commander of U.S. European Command and the NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe. LaNeve and Driscoll downplayed the move as part of routine manning reviews conducted throughout the year. “We are constantly in contact with [the Office of the Secretary of Defense] and the combatant commanders … and this is not meant to hide the ball,” Driscoll said during a House Armed Services Committee hearing. “This type of conversation is going on throughout the year, every single year, and the Army is always ready to move people and things based off combatant commander and Secretary of War preferences,” Driscoll added.

But lawmakers questioned the timing and the reasons, lambasting the order that Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., said sent a “terrible message to Russia and our allies.” Bacon said he had spoken with Polish leaders who were “blindsided” by the decision and understood that Grynkewich had expressed reservations to the order, saying that it was not without risk. “This is a slap in the face to Poland. It’s a slap in the face to our Baltic friends. I think it’s a slap to the face in this committee, because we’ve put floors and restrictions on the Pentagon on further reductions in Europe because of what they did with Romania,” Bacon said. CNN reported Thursday that Hegseth made the decision in relation to the administration’s efforts to pressure Europe to increase its own defenses. CNN also reported that Hegseth’s order canceled a deployment of 3rd Battalion, 12th Field Artillery Regiment to Germany later this year and a command that oversees long-range rockets and missiles will be removed from Europe. The news follows an announcement May 1 that the U.S. would withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany — a decision Pentagon officials said was made following a review of “theater requirements and conditions on the ground.” But critics say the withdrawal is retribution for NATO countries deciding not to join the U.S. in attacking Iran. President Donald Trump repeatedly has criticized NATO countries for not investing more in their own defense and said in March that NATO would face a “bad future” if they didn’t help defend the Strait of Hormuz.

“If there’s no response, or if it’s a negative response, I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO,” Trump told the Financial Times. Army leaders did not say how many soldiers were affected by the decision or provide the number of personnel in the advanced echelon that now must return to Fort Hood, where the brigade is based. The order has upended the lives of at least 4,500 soldiers, however, many of whom made preparations to vacate homes and apartments, store belongings and relocate their families. The order also cost money: in a text message reviewed by Army Times Tuesday, a brigade member estimated the cost and retrieval of equipment at $4 million. Acting Pentagon Press Secretary Joel Valdez said Thursday the decision was “not an unexpected, last-minute decision,” but lawmakers pushed back on that assessment, with Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., saying he didn’t see how the “statement can be true.” “These are major decisions that appear to many of the members of this committee to be last-minute decisions,” Scott said.

LaNeve and Driscoll noted that in their roles as chief of staff and secretary, their jobs are administrative and they have no authority in operational decisions. LaNeve’s multiple references to the law that dictates the structure of the armed forces — and the pair’s lack of response — irritated several committee members. “We have been very focused on this committee about force posture, and EUCOM in particular not being disturbed, particularly without — what the statute requires — is consultation with us, and we didn’t get that, so we don’t know what’s going on here, but I just tell you we’re not happy,” said Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala. “It is a pretty dramatic decision to, at the last minute, pull a team that you’re trying to send over there,” agreed Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the committee’s ranking member. “If there’s some strategy behind it, then you guys ought to know, and you ought to be able to communicate it to us.”

The U.S. has roughly 80,000 service members in Europe.

so with the 5k from the earlier Germany pull-out, and another 4k here, that's nearly 1/8 of the US's European deployments...

European Command did not respond to a request for comment by publication.

An Army official confirmed the decision Wednesday but did not provide details and referred all questions to the Defense Department, which did not respond to a request for information. During a congressional hearing Tuesday on the Army’s budget posture, neither Army Secretary Dan Driscoll nor Gen. Christopher LaNeve, the Army vice chief of staff, mentioned the deployment cancellation. But word already had started spreading early Tuesday morning among those affected, with soldiers texting friends and loved ones about the change. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said during his opening statement in the hearing that the Army faces a budget shortfall of at least $2 billion as a result of extended operations that include deployments of the Army National Guard to Washington, D.C., and units to participate in U.S. border control. Reed wondered what the impact was on training and operations but the topic was not addressed.

According to ABC News, the Army budget shortfall is significantly larger than Reed’s estimate. In the report, Army officials told the outlet the amount actually is between $4 billion and $6 billion. The Pentagon announced in April that it planned to withdraw roughly 5,000 troops from Germany. Defense Department spokesperson Sean Parnell said that Secretary Pete Hegseth made the decision after reviewing “theater requirements and conditions on the ground.” The move would bring U.S. troops levels in Europe to pre-2022 levels, before Russia invaded Ukraine

...

More than 10,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Poland on rotation. The “Black Jack” brigade was expected to deploy for nine months. The Stars and Stripes reported that the Fort Hood, Texas-based tank brigade cased its colors May 1 in preparation for the deployment. Portions of the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team advanced echelon are already in Poland and equipment is in transit, according to the deployment plan. Army officials from Fort Hood and U.S. Army Headquarters referred all questions to DoD, which declined to comment. “We have no comment on this at this time,” the Pentagon press office wrote in an email to Army Times.

Is the US military so cooked at this point that they can't even maintain a proper development in Europe anymore? What's going on