{"id":46160,"date":"2022-05-26T18:38:22","date_gmt":"2022-05-26T18:38:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2022\/05\/26\/european-command-nominee-doesnt-foresee-more-troops-there-under-expanded-nato\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T09:10:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T09:10:48","slug":"european-command-nominee-doesnt-foresee-more-troops-there-under-expanded-nato","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2022\/05\/26\/european-command-nominee-doesnt-foresee-more-troops-there-under-expanded-nato\/","title":{"rendered":"European Command nominee doesn\u2019t foresee more troops there under expanded NATO"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If Sweden and Finland<\/a> succeed in their bids to join NATO, it\u2019s likely that the landscape of U.S. troops in Europe<\/a> could shift accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that probably won\u2019t involve more land forces, the Army general nominated to be U.S. European Command\u2019s next leader <\/a>told the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI remain of the opinion, as I told you in our office call, that at least in the ground domain, this is not going to be a requirement for large additional forces, or additional forces,\u201d Gen. Christopher Cavoli, who currently leads U.S. Army Europe and Africa, told Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, the U.S. and those countries would focus on temporary engagements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think exercises and occasional presence, like we do with any ally, will increase,\u201d Cavoli added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That would fulfill Sweden\u2019s recent request for an increased U.S. naval presence in the Baltic Sea<\/a>, in the form of joint exercises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As far as any basing in NATO\u2019s new, hypothetical northern reaches, Cavoli said that decision would be a ways off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd I would point out that the word basing carries with it an enormous number of other implications that I would have to consider deeply before I came back to you,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years, the Defense Department has relied more on back-to-back troop rotations, rather than setting up permanent bases that would require family housing, schools and other support facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In April, Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, proposed a compromise in which troop housing and facilities could be built to support rotational forces, but not the type of setup that would include bringing their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\t