Pentagon considers major cuts to top of US military

• The Pentagon is considering significant cuts to the U.S. military. Some of the cuts include potentially giving up NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe role and restructuring commands to save millions of dollars.
• Additional savings could also come from ending a planned expansion of U.S. Forces Japan.
• The cuts are part of the Trump administration’s push for federal downsizing, led by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

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The Pentagon is considering making significant cuts to the top of the U.S. military as the Trump administration works to downsize the federal government, according to multiple reports. 

One of the plans under consideration would involve the U.S. giving up the role of NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). The general now in this role, who also serves as the head of U.S. European Command, also serves as the primary commander overseeing support to Ukraine in its war against Russia. 

It’s not clear how long the reorganization would take and congress could also weigh in on the plan.

NATO is an alliance that’s defined European security and peace since World War II.

What else does the proposed plan include?

The massive restructuring plan could also include the consolidation of U.S. European Command the U.S. Africa Command into one command base in Germany, as well as ending the U.S. Southern Command headquarters in Florida in order to combine it with U.S. Northern command forming a single “AMERICOM” Command. 

According to a Pentagon briefing, if these changes along with NATO are implemented, up to $270 million could be saved in the first year. 

Separately, the document states, the U.S. is also likely to halt a planned expansion of U.S. Forces Japan, which would save around $1 billion.

The document also acknowledged it could create “political risk” for the U.S. in Japan and reduce the scope of command and control in the Pacific.

Under the Biden administration, the U.S. and Japan agreed to improve the command functions of the U.S. forces in Japan to help the allies better coordinate and respond to contingencies.

Now, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) ordered the Pentagon and other federal agencies to make sweeping cuts to save money.

What has Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said about cuts?

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said in February 2024 that the Department of Defense would be leaning on DOGE to help the department find fraud and waste.

“With DOGE, we are focusing as much as we can on headquarters and fat and top-line stuff that allows us to reinvest elsewhere,” Hegseth said.

The U.S. military’s current annual budget is over $800 billion.