President Donald Trump said Thursday that the United States is making “major progress” toward establishing a permanent Army base in Poland, a move that could expand American military presence on NATO’s eastern flank.
“If this happens, the location will be announced very soon,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “This will be a historic step for our Great U.S./Polish Alliance.”
Polish President Karol Nawrocki welcomed Trump’s announcement and said his government would work to provide “the best possible location for the US Army base.”
The announcement comes a week after Pentagon officials traveled to Poland for talks on expanding the military’s presence there.
Trending
A U.S. delegation led by Pentagon official William Cappelletti met with Polish officials and visited sites in Powidz and Poznan. The two sides agreed to create working groups.
It is not clear whether either location is being considered for the proposed base.
The Army already has a permanent presence in Poland. U.S. Army Garrison Poland is headquartered in Poznan, and V Corps maintains a forward headquarters there.
But much of the larger U.S. force in Poland, about 10,000 service members, is rotational, with troops deploying there for limited periods rather than being permanently stationed. Trump announced in May that the U.S. would send another 5,000 troops to the country.
That rotational presence has already sparked tension this year. The Pentagon halted a planned rotation of roughly 4,000 Army soldiers to Poland in May, surprising Polish officials and drawing criticism from some lawmakers. Poland’s defense minister said in July that the rotation would resume.
That leaves a major question about what Trump’s proposed base would change. The administration has not said whether it would build a new installation, expand an existing site or permanently station additional Army units in Poland.
The Pentagon referred all questions to the White House, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Poland has pushed for a larger permanent American presence for months. The Polish government formally proposed a permanent U.S. base earlier this year and has begun preparations for negotiations over its location, infrastructure and cost.
Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said in June that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had responded positively to the proposal, though no final agreement had been reached. Kosiniak-Kamysz is set to meet with Hegseth again next week in Washington to discuss the matter along with Russia-related threats to NATO’s eastern flank and Poland’s security.
The talks are unfolding as the Pentagon reviews the broader U.S. military presence in Europe, including whether to reduce or reposition some of the roughly 80,000 American troops on the continent.
Author
