Trump Administration Considers Dropping NATO Military Command

The Pentagon is undertaking a major restructuring of the U.S. military’s combat commands and headquarters. And one of the plans under consideration, the two defense officials said, would involve eliminating the role of NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe — known in military parlance as SACEUR.

The general who now holds the role, who is also the head of U.S. European Command, was the top commander overseeing support for Ukraine in its war against Russia. It’s unclear how long such a reorganization, which could undergo changes before it’s finalized, could take. Congress could also step in, using its prerogatives if members oppose any aspect of the initiative, NBC notes.

Eliminating SACEUR would represent a major symbolic shift in the balance of power within NATO, the alliance that has defined European security and peace since World War II.

“For the United States to relinquish the role of supreme allied commander would be seen in Europe as a significant signal of departure from the alliance,” retired Admiral James Stavridis, who was SACEUR and head of U.S. European Command from 2009 to 2013, said in an email. “It would be a political mistake of epic proportions, and once we relinquish it, they will not take it back,” he wrote.

“We would lose enormous influence within NATO, and this would be seen, correctly, as probably the first step toward leaving the Alliance altogether,” Stavridis warned.
The proposed restructuring comes as the Trump administration has slashed spending and personnel across the federal government, and President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have made clear that the new administration wants European partners to take on more responsibility for defending Europe.

If the U.S. drops SACEUR, other NATO countries would likely have to choose among themselves which country to nominate for the commander. 

Trump has repeatedly criticized NATO members for failing to meet a goal the alliance has set for the percentage of GDP each country should spend on defense. 

He is also considering a major policy shift that would see the U.S. stop defending another NATO member if it is attacked — a core tenet of the alliance — if that country fails to meet a defense spending threshold. 

The timing of a decision on SACEUR, if it ever happens, is still undecided. Army General Chris Cavoli, the current SACEUR, has a three-year term that will end this summer.

Five of the 11 combatant commands of the US military could be merged under the discussed plan, the two defense officials familiar with the planning also said. CNN also wrote, citing sources, about such plans.

According to CNN, the Pentagon is considering merging the European Command and the Africa Command into a single command based in Stuttgart, Germany, and merging the US Northern and Southern Commands into a single command, AMERICOM.