Pentagon review to present Europe troop options to Hegseth by November 6

Washington, United States. A Pentagon review of US troop deployments in Europe will produce at least four sets of options for Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth by November 6, ahead of the review’s December completion deadline, according to a document seen by Reuters.

Review process

The six-month review was announced in June and will assess US basing decisions across Europe. The Pentagon’s internal “Terms of Reference”, which have not previously been detailed, set out the review’s steps and some of the criteria for evaluating deployments.

The document states that the top US general in Europe will take part in a decision briefing with the Pentagon’s policy chief, Elbridge Colby, by September 18. The briefing is expected to be central to developing options for Hegseth.

Allied concerns

Nato allies are concerned that the review could result in large-scale reductions to the roughly 80,000 US forces stationed across Europe. They also fear it could affect countries that President Donald Trump believes did not support the US-Israeli war against Iran.

Colby is expected to discuss the review with Nato ambassadors on Thursday at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels.

Pentagon position

Asked about the Terms of Reference, a senior Pentagon official said the development of detailed options demonstrated the seriousness of the process.

“We want to be able to talk through the pros and cons of a variety of different force levels or dispositions,” the official told Reuters.

European officials remain sceptical of the process, with some privately concerned that Washington’s decision has effectively already been made. The Trump administration has long indicated that it intends to reduce military resources committed to Europe, expecting Nato allies to assume a greater share of the burden.