WASHINGTON, May 15, 2026 — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth canceled the deployment of 4,000 U.S. troops to Poland after the unit’s equipment had already shipped to Europe and advance elements of the brigade were already on the ground — a decision that left Army leaders unable to explain the rationale to Congress and Poland without prior notice.
The canceled unit was the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Cavalry Division, based in Fort Hood, Texas. The brigade had cased its colors on May 1 in preparation for a long-planned nine-month rotation that included Poland, the Baltic states, and Romania. Acting Army Chief of Staff Gen. Christopher LaNeve confirmed at a House Armed Services Committee hearing Friday that advanced elements of the brigade were already overseas when the cancellation order came down.
The Pentagon defended the move. Acting press secretary Joel Valdez said in a statement that the decision “follows a comprehensive, multilayered process that incorporates perspectives from key leaders in EUCOM and across the chain of command,” adding that it “was not an unexpected, last-minute decision, and it would be false to report it as such.”
Army Leaders Cannot Explain Why
At Friday’s House Armed Services Committee hearing, LaNeve and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll said they had been informed of the order and consulted — but provided no policy rationale for the decision. Driscoll said the rotation was canceled “just a couple days ago.” LaNeve said the decision came “probably within the last two weeks,” but said he did not know the specific day it was made.
When pressed repeatedly by lawmakers on the reason for the cancellation, both LaNeve and Driscoll deferred to the Pentagon’s civilian leadership. LaNeve said only that after working with U.S. European Command chief Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, “it made the most sense for that brigade to not do its deployment in theater.”
Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., read Valdez’s statement aloud during the hearing. “I don’t see how that statement can be true,” Scott said.
Hegseth’s order also canceled the future deployment to Germany of the 3rd Battalion, 12th Field Artillery Regiment, a unit specializing in long-range rockets and missiles, and directed that the command overseeing those capabilities be removed from Europe.
Poland Left in the Dark
The cancellation blindsided Poland, one of America’s closest NATO allies and its highest defense spender. Poland is on track to spend 4.7 percent of its GDP on defense this year — the highest in the alliance. Hegseth himself had previously called Poland a “model ally.” In September, President Trump told Polish President Karol Nawrocki during a White House visit that he had no intention of pulling U.S. troops from the country, saying: “We’ll put more there if they want.”
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Friday he had received assurances the decision was “of a logistical nature” and did not directly affect Poland’s security or deterrence capabilities. Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said the matter “does not concern Poland” and characterized it as part of a broader U.S. military realignment in Europe.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the cancellation “came as a surprise” and that Congress had not been notified. “It is, I think, very short sighted,” she said. “It sends the wrong message — wrong message to Vladimir Putin, wrong message to China, wrong message to Iran.”
Congress: No Statutory Consultation
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., said the Pentagon violated the statutory requirement to consult Congress on changes to U.S. force posture in Europe. “We have been very focused on this committee about force posture, and EUCOM in particular not being disturbed, particularly without what the statute requires — consultation with us — and we didn’t get that,” Rogers said. “We don’t know what’s going on here, but I can just tell you we’re not happy.”
Rogers later warned of consequences: “We are going to mandate that the department follow the statutory minimums that are set in statute on force posture, and if there are attempted deviations, we will remedy them and impose pain if they aren’t complied with.”
The 2026 Pentagon funding bill requires that the U.S. maintain no fewer than 76,000 troops permanently stationed or deployed to Europe for more than 45 days without providing Congress with required certifications. The combined Poland and Germany reductions risk pushing that number below the legal floor.
Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the committee’s ranking member, said Army leaders should be able to explain the decision. “It is a pretty dramatic decision to, at the last minute, pull a team that you’re trying to send over there. If there’s some strategy behind it, then you guys ought to know, and you ought to be able to communicate it to us.”
A Pattern of Abrupt Withdrawals
The Poland cancellation is the third major abrupt European force reduction in recent months. Last fall, the Pentagon redeployed a brigade from Romania without sending replacement forces. Earlier this month, Hegseth announced the withdrawal of approximately 5,000 troops from Germany — a decision that followed President Trump’s anger at German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said the United States was being “humiliated” by the war in Iran. Trump has signaled the cuts will go further, telling reporters he is “cutting a lot further than 5,000” from Germany and threatening similar reductions in Italy and Spain.
Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, former commander of U.S. Army Europe, described the strategic stakes plainly: “The Army’s role in Europe is all about deterring the Russians, protecting America’s strategic interests and assuring allies — and now a very important asset that was coming to be part of that deterrence is gone.”
Russia this week launched one of its deadliest attacks on Kyiv since the start of the four-year war in Ukraine. A senior NATO official said France and Germany had already increased forces on the alliance’s eastern flank, and that number would grow by thousands before the end of next year.