Latest Troop withdrawals News

In this image provided by the U.S. Army, recent Army basic combat training graduates have their temperatures taken as they arrive at Fort Lee, Va, on March 31, 2020, after being transported using sterilized buses from Fort Jackson, S.C. COVID-19 has had a dramatic impact on military recruiting, shuttering enlistment stations around the country and forcing thousands of recruiters to woo potential soldiers online. Recruiters have had to abandon their normal visits to high schools and malls, and instead rely almost exclusively on social media to reach young people. (U.S. Army via AP)

Changes in military recruiting may endure after pandemic

Jun. 30, 2020 7:18 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — With his Army recruiting office shuttered due to the coronavirus, Staff Sgt. Anthony Holt has had to be creative to meet his enlistment goals. Using social media is one way. Signing up the grocery delivery guy is another. Holt asked the man how he ended up with the virtual shopping job....

U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, left, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg participate in a joint press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Friday, June 26, 2020. U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper is at NATO to follow-up on a broad range of issues raised during last week's NATO defense ministerial. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, Pool)

Pentagon chief seeks to reassure NATO over US troop plans

Jun. 26, 2020 11:59 AM EDT

BRUSSELS (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Friday sought to reassure allies at NATO that Washington will consult them on any future troop movements, after President Donald Trump surprised partners at the military alliance by announcing the withdrawal of thousands of personnel from Germany. At a...

President Donald Trump meets with Polish President Andrzej Duda in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, June 24, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Trump: Poland to get some US troops withdrawn from Germany

Jun. 24, 2020 6:07 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that some of the 10,000 American troops he’s pulling out of Germany will be moved to Poland on NATO’s eastern flank against Russian aggression. “We’re going to be reducing our forces in Germany,” Trump said in the...

FILE - In this June 9, 2020, file photo, a picture of a former American soldier is displayed at the former U.S. army Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin, Germany. In vowing to pull thousands of U.S. troops from Germany, President Donald Trump is following a pattern of disruptive moves against allies that have dismayed many of his fellow Republicans. Trump has consistently promised to bring American troops home, dismissing the conventional view that a far-flung U.S. military presence, while costly, pays off in the long run by ensuring stability for global trade. Earlier this week he said the 34,500 U.S. troops in Germany would be reduced to 25,000. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

Trump troop cut in Germany fits a pattern of hitting allies

Jun. 19, 2020 5:59 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — In vowing to pull thousands of American troops from Germany, President Donald Trump is following a pattern of disruptive, sometimes punitive, moves against allies that have dismayed his fellow Republicans and cast doubt across the globe about the future of partnering with the United...

Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, center, top U.S. commander for the Middle East, makes an unannounced visit, Friday, Jan. 31, 2020 in Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP Photos/Lolita Baldor)

US has hit agreed troop-cut target of 8,600 in Afghanistan

Jun. 18, 2020 3:41 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States has reduced its troop presence in Afghanistan to 8,600, fulfilling its obligation as part of a February deal with the Taliban, the general who oversees American forces in that region said Thursday. Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie gave no indication of when, or at what pace,...

FILE - In this March 3, 2017 photo, a peasant harvests coca leaves in Puerto Bello, in the southern Colombia's state of Putumayo. The amount of land in Colombia being used to harvest coca, the plant used to make cocaine, ticked up again last year, continuing record highs despite a renewed campaign to manually eradicate the plant, new data from the White House said Thursday, March 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)

UN: Less land in Colombia devoted to growing coca in 2019

Jun. 17, 2020 6:36 PM EDT

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — The amount of land devoted to growing the plant used to make cocaine dropped in Colombia last year as the military embarked on a campaign to pull out thousands of the coca shrubs that have stood as a stubborn thorn in the nation’s history. That’s according to a new...

FILE - In this Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018 file photo, U.S President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel attend ceremonies at the Arc de Triumphe in Paris. After more than a year of thinly veiled threats that the United States could start pulling troops out of Germany unless the country increases its defense spending to NATO standards, President Donald Trump appears to be going ahead with the hardball approach with a plan to reduce the American military presence in the country by more than 25 percent. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, Pool, File)

NATO chief plays down concern over US troop plans in Germany

Jun. 16, 2020 12:36 PM EDT

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday played down concern that the United States will rush to pull thousands of its troops out of Germany, as doubts swirled in Europe about when such a withdrawal might take place. President Donald Trump has said that he is ordering a major...

President Donald Trump listens during a roundtable about America's seniors, in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Monday, June 15, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Trump announces major US troop cut in 'delinquent' Germany

Jun. 15, 2020 8:55 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday he is ordering a major reduction in U.S. troop strength in Germany, a move widely criticized by members of his own party as a gift to Russia and a threat to U.S. national security. “We're putting the number down to 25,000 soldiers,” Trump...

FILE - In this Thursday, Dec. 27, 2018 file photo, President Donald Trump, center right, and first lady Melania Trump, center left, greet members of the military at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. After more than a year of thinly veiled threats that the United States could start pulling troops out of Germany unless the country increases its defense spending to NATO standards, President Donald Trump appears to be going ahead with the hardball approach with a plan to reduce the American military presence in the country by more than 25 percent. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, file)

Yankee go home: What does moving troops out of Germany mean?

Jun. 14, 2020 9:03 AM EDT

BERLIN (AP) — After more than a year of thinly-veiled threats to start pulling U.S. troops out of Germany unless Berlin increases its defense spending, President Donald Trump appears to be proceeding with a hardball approach, planning to cut the U.S. military contingent by more than 25%. About 34,500...

FILE - In this Friday, Jan. 17, 2020 file photo, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova gestures as she attends Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's annual roundup news conference summing up his ministry's work in 2019, in Moscow, Russia. Russia's Foreign Ministry has accused the Financial Times and the New York Times of spreading

Russia welcomes prospect of US troop pullback from Germany

Jun. 11, 2020 10:51 AM EDT

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's Foreign Ministry on Thursday welcomed President Donald Trump’s reported plan to withdraw more than a quarter of U.S. troops from Germany, saying it would help bolster security in Europe. Trump has reportedly signed off on a plan to cut the number of troops stationed in Germany...

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