FILE PHOTO: In this file photo a US soldier waits prior to an artillery live fire event by the US Army Europe's 41st Field Artillery Brigade at the military training area in Grafenwoehr, southern Germany, on March 4, 2020. (Photo: AFP)
The United States will slash its military presence in Germany by 11,900 troops, relocating some to Italy and Belgium in a major shift of Washington's NATO assets, Defense Secretary Mark Esper announced Wednesday.
Of the 34,500 US military personnel in Germany, some 6,400 will be sent home while nearly 5,600 others will be moved to other NATO countries.
A key aim of the rotation is to reinforce NATO's southeastern flank near the Black Sea, Esper said.
Some could also go to Poland and the Baltic states if Warsaw follows through on an agreement already sketched out by the two sides, Esper said.
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