Polish soldiers welcome U.S. Defense Secretary for talks with senior leaders in Warsaw on Feb. 14, 2025. Hegseth also visited with U.S. troops during his visit to the country. (U.S. Department of Defense/X)
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wound down his European tour Friday in Poland, praising the country as an exemplary NATO partner and saying he would welcome having more American troops in the country.
The new Pentagon chief made Poland his final stop on a swing through Europe this week that included visits at U.S. European Command headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, and NATO headquarters in Brussels.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, center, leads physical training with soldiers in Warsaw on Feb. 14, 2025. (U.S. Department of Defense/X)
Meeting with Polish leaders and American troops, Hegseth said the country stands apart from others in NATO with its high levels of defense spending and investment in infrastructure to support the U.S. military presence there.
“It is quite intentional the first European bilateral (meeting) is right here in Poland,” Hegseth said. “We see Poland as the model ally.”
The U.S. has more than 8,000 troops in Poland, the majority of whom are there on a rotational basis. There also is a permanent presence in Poznan, which was established as the Army’s garrison in the country in 2023.
Poland is at the top of the alliance when it comes to defense spending on a per-capita basis and says it will soon hit a level of 5% of gross domestic product, well above NATO’s previous benchmark target of 2%.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth sits with Polish Deputy Prime Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz on Feb. 14, 2025. Hegseth hailed Poland as a model NATO ally. (U.S. Department of Defense/X)
During his trip, Hegseth called on NATO to raise the benchmark for other allies to 5%, echoing President Donald Trump’s demands that European countries take on a greater share of the defense burden on the Continent.
Poland also is a big spender when it comes to buying American weapons systems, including F-35s, Abrams tanks and Apache attack helicopters.
Those circumstances “would make me want to welcome more troops to Poland as the secretary of defense,” Hegseth said, adding that his outlook wasn’t official policy.
Still, Hegseth’s views on U.S. forces in Poland could send a reassuring signal to allies in Europe amid uncertainty about the future role of the American military on the Continent.
Hegseth said that he and Trump recognize that a U.S. troop presence in Europe is important, but that it would be difficult to forecast what the configuration will look like in the future.
Force levels “five to 10 to 15 years from now” will depend on the threat environment, he said.
“That is why our message is so stark (on defense spending),” Hegseth said. “You can’t make an assumption that the American presence will last forever.”
