Hegseth backs Air Force three-star Grynkewich for top Europe job

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has recommended the president nominate Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the Joint Staff’s director for operations, to lead U.S. forces in Europe, according to a senior U.S. defense official, U.S. official and two congressional aides.

The nomination to head European Command, which is not yet final, comes at a moment of uncertainty for America’s military commitment to Europe, potentially including cuts to U.S. forces on the continent and a lesser role in the NATO alliance.

The White House still needs to review the nomination and pass it to the Senate before it becomes official, the sources said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing process.

Inside the Pentagon, Grynkewich is widely considered one of America’s most promising general officers. A former F-16 and F-22 pilot, he spent four years on the staff of Central Command helping lead the U.S. military in the Middle East, including its Air Force component there.

He entered his role on the Joint Staff in April 2024 and has since helped steer U.S. forces around the world in a year marked by the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and China’s growing military power. In that role, he has also worked closely on the Pentagon’s support for Ukraine’s self-defense.

Under the Trump administration, the Defense Department has taken a much firmer tone toward its European allies . Like President Donald Trump, Hegseth has argued NATO countries need to raise military spending, up to 5% of GDP from the current 2% floor.

Hegseth has also taken a smaller role in the group of countries that have gathered for the last three years to support Ukraine’s self-defense. Britain and Germany chaired the gathering’s last meeting in April, with Hegseth attending virtually.

“Leaders of our European allies should take primary responsibility for defense of the continent,” Hegseth said in a February speech at NATO headquarters.

The head of European Command has also always served as Supreme Allied Commander Europe, a top military role within NATO held by an American dating back to Dwight D. Eisenhower.

In March, reports that Hegseth may cede that position prompted a rare public stand by the chairs of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees.

“We will not accept significant changes to our warfighting structure that are made without a rigorous interagency process, coordination with combatant commanders and the Joint Staff and collaboration with Congress,” the two chairs wrote.

In an April hearing, the current head of EUCOM, Gen. Christopher Cavoli, defended America’s military commitment to Europe and argued the country should maintain its presence there.

“It’s my advice to maintain that force posture as it is now,” Cavoli said in a House Armed Services Committee hearing.

There are currently 80,000 U.S. troops in Europe after the Biden administration surged 20,000 more to the continent following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The Pentagon is reviewing its spread of forces around the world — an effort led in part by policy officials who formerly called for cuts in America’s presence in Europe.

European officials have said they expect the U.S. to withdraw troops and have heard from the Pentagon that the cuts may start with the 20,000 brought three years ago.

A Defense Department spokesperson said no decisions have yet been made during the force posture review.

Cavoli is expected to retire around early July, one of multiple top U.S. military officials to leave posts in Europe this year. Gen. James Hecker, head of the U.S. Air Force in Europe, is retiring in May and does not yet have a nominated successor. Hegseth also fired Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield, who held a senior role within NATO, in April.

Separately, the Washington Post reported that Hegseth has recommended Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, to lead U.S. forces in the Middle East, passing over Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Mingus, who had been presumed as the post’s top contender.

A Pentagon spokesperson referred questions to the White House, which didn’t respond to a separate request for comment.

Editor’s note: The original version of this story misstated the number of U.S. troops in Europe. The total has been corrected.

Noah Robertson is the Pentagon reporter at Defense News. He previously covered national security for the Christian Science Monitor. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and government from the College of William & Mary in his hometown of Williamsburg, Virginia.

据一位美国高级国防官员、一位美国官员和两位国会助理透露，美国国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯已建议总统提名联合参谋部作战主任亚历克西斯·格林克维奇中将领导驻欧美军。

尽管欧洲司令部司令的提名尚未最终确定，但此时美国对欧洲的军事承诺正处于不确定时期，这可能包括削减驻欧美军以及降低其在北约联盟中的作用。

消息人士称，白宫仍需审查提名并将其提交参议院，之后才能正式生效。这些消息人士要求匿名，以便讨论正在进行的程序。

在五角大楼内部，格林克维奇被广泛认为是美国最有前途的将领之一。他曾是F-16和F-22战斗机的飞行员，并在中央司令部任职四年，协助领导美军在中东的行动，包括其驻扎在那里的空军部队。

他于2024年4月进入联合参谋部任职，此后，在这一年中，他协助指导美军在全球的行动，而这一年也正值乌克兰和加沙战争以及中国军事实力日益增强的时期。在此期间，他还密切参与了五角大楼对乌克兰自卫的支持工作。

在特朗普政府时期，美国国防部对欧洲盟友的态度变得更加强硬。与特朗普总统一样，赫格塞斯也认为北约国家需要提高军费开支，从目前的占GDP 2%的最低水平提高到5%。

在过去三年里，一些国家一直聚集在一起支持乌克兰的自卫行动，赫格塞斯在其中也扮演着较小的角色。英国和德国主持了该组织今年4月举行的上次会议，赫格塞斯以线上方式出席了会议。

“我们欧洲盟国的领导人应该承担起保卫欧洲大陆的首要责任，”赫格塞斯在2月份于北约总部发表的讲话中说道。

欧洲司令部司令也一直兼任欧洲盟军最高司令，这是北约最高军事职位，自德怀特·D·艾森豪威尔以来一直由美国人担任。

今年 3 月，有报道称赫格塞斯可能会放弃这一职位，这促使众议院和参议院军事委员会主席罕见地公开表态。

“我们不会接受在缺乏严格的跨部门程序、与作战司令部和联合参谋部协调以及与国会合作的情况下，对我们的作战结构进行重大改变，”两位主席写道。

在四月份的一次听证会上，现任欧洲司令部司令克里斯托弗·卡沃利将军为美国对欧洲的军事承诺辩护，并认为美国应该继续保持在欧洲的存在。

卡沃利在众议院军事委员会听证会上说：“我的建议是保持目前的兵力部署状态。”

在俄罗斯于 2022 年入侵乌克兰后，拜登政府向欧洲增派了 2 万名美军，目前欧洲驻扎着 8 万名美军。

五角大楼正在重新评估其在全球的兵力部署——这项工作部分是由一些政策官员牵头的，他们此前曾呼吁削减美国在欧洲的驻军。

欧洲官员表示，他们预计美国将撤军，并且从五角大楼获悉，裁军可能从三年前引进的 2 万名士兵开始。

国防部发言人表示，在部队态势评估期间尚未做出任何决定。

卡沃利预计将于7月初退休，他是今年多位离开驻欧美军高级官员之一。美国空军驻欧洲司令詹姆斯·赫克尔将军将于5月退休，目前尚未提名继任者。此外，赫格塞斯于4月解雇了在北约担任要职的海军中将肖莎娜·查特菲尔德。

另据《华盛顿邮报》报道，赫格塞斯推荐美国中央司令部副司令布拉德·库珀海军中将领导驻中东美军，而陆军副参谋长詹姆斯·明格斯将军此前被认为是该职位的头号候选人。

五角大楼发言人将问题转给了白宫，但白宫没有回应另一次置评请求。

编者按：本文原版本错误地报告了驻欧美军人数，现已更正。

诺亚·罗伯逊是《防务新闻》的五角大楼记者。他此前曾为《基督教科学箴言报》报道国家安全新闻。他拥有弗吉尼亚州威廉斯堡威廉与玛丽学院的英语和政治学学士学位。