Pentagon Halts Army Deployment of 4000 Troops to Poland

The Pentagon informed senior Army leadership "just a couple of days ago" that it would cancel a planned deployment of troops to Poland, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and Acting Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Christopher C. LaNeve told lawmakers on Thursday.

Earlier this week reports emerged that a memo from the Defense Department blocked the deployment of the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, to Eastern Europe. The brigade consists of approximately 4000 troops. The decision follows the announced withdrawal of 5000 troops from Germany.

LaNeve told the House Armed Services Committee that he had been in conversations over the preceding two weeks with the head of U.S. European Command about the situation. The final order to pull the brigade came from the Defense Department. "This was all relatively recent, and we worked back and forth on what those recommendations would be, and the order came down," LaNeve said.

" Driscoll told the committee that such short-notice changes are "not that unusual" for the Army. He said the service is always prepared to adjust movements based on combatant commander and Defense Department preferences.

LaNeve confirmed that equipment for the brigade was already in transit when the decision was made. Acting Pentagon Press Secretary Joe Valdez stated that the decision followed a comprehensive process incorporating perspectives from leaders in U.S. European Command and across the chain of command.

" Lawmakers from both parties questioned Army leaders on the reasons for canceling the deployment of the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team. LaNeve responded that he "wasn't on the policy side" of the decision. Officials expressed concern that the move could affect relations with European allies that have increased their defense spending.

One lawmaker noted that Poland is spending 4.8 percent of its GDP on defense, with Baltic nations in a similar range.