Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, a retired Air Force brigadier general, criticized the Pentagon’s decision to step down as leader of the command coordinating military assistance to Ukraine, calling it another sign of weak civilian leadership at the department.
“More weakness from the civilian leadership at the Pentagon,” Bacon wrote on X, responding to a summary of Politico’s reporting on the change.
Politico reported July 31 that the Pentagon is stepping down as leader of the Security Assistance Group-Ukraine, a NATO command based in Wiesbaden, Germany, that has coordinated the delivery of weapons, training and logistics support for Ukraine’s armed forces since Russia’s full-scale invasion began. According to the report, leadership will transfer to another NATO member state, with a European or Canadian officer expected to take command over a transition period of up to a year. “SAG-U was always meant to be temporary,” the Pentagon said in a statement to Politico. “This effort is aimed at burden shifting within the Alliance to support Ukraine and to align U.S. resources in accordance with the National Defense Strategy.”
Army Lt. Gen. Curtis Buzzard, who has led the command since mid-2024, was set to step down Aug. 3, handing authority to Army Lt. Gen. Guillaume Beaurpere, who will oversee the drawdown of American leadership. U.S. European Command will remain involved in the effort through an American deputy commander. A NATO official told Politico the move represented “yet another example of allies taking on greater responsibility,” while stressing that “support for Ukraine remains a top priority.”
A Ukrainian official told Politico the shift carried “more advantages than disadvantages” for Kyiv, since reduced U.S. political turbulence around the command could offer more stability. But the same official voiced concern that folding the effort more fully into NATO’s bureaucratic structure could slow deliveries to the front lines, and emphasized the unique value of American capabilities. “No one can replace the American capabilities of satellite reconnaissance, targeting and logistical capabilities provided by heavy U.S. transport aircraft,” the official said.
SAG-U was established in 2022 under U.S. European Command’s structure and formalized further at NATO’s Washington Summit in July 2024, and had roughly 300 American officers on its staff as of 2023. Politico noted the timing of the handover was notable given “the political moment in Washington, and Trump’s persistent antipathy toward the continent and NATO,” describing it as part of a broader pattern of the administration shifting security responsibilities in Europe onto allies.
Bacon, who spent nearly 30 years in the Air Force before retiring as a brigadier general in 2014, commanding the 55th Wing at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska and deploying to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom, serves on the House Armed Services Committee, where he chairs the Subcommittee on Cyber, Information Technologies and Innovation. He has been among the more prominent Republican voices in Congress supporting continued robust U.S. assistance to Ukraine, a position that has occasionally put him at odds with elements of his own party.
Bacon announced in June 2025 that he would not seek reelection to a sixth term, meaning his current term, which runs through January 2027, will be his last in the House.
The handover comes as the Trump administration has pursued a broader realignment of U.S. military commitments in Europe, including discussions of troop drawdowns from the continent, a posture Trump has at points linked publicly to unrelated disputes, including over Greenland.
Politico’s reporting noted the change would mean the U.S. no longer directly helps shape what Ukraine’s future armed forces will look like, following a series of other adjustments the Trump administration has made to the long-standing NATO alliance structure.
Bacon has previously clashed with the administration over Ukraine policy, and is among a group of lawmakers sanctioned by the Russian government for his advocacy on the issue.
Neither the Pentagon nor the White House has issued additional public comment responding directly to Bacon’s criticism.