The recent tension between the American president, donald trumpand the German chancellor, Friedrich Merzhas ended with the announcement by the United States that in the coming months it will reduce by 5,000 the soldiers stationed on German soil, where it maintains more than 36,000 soldiers. But how important are these bases to the US military and to Germany?
The United States has slightly less than a dozen major military bases in Germanymany of them in the southwest and south of the European country, but the number of facilities ranges between 20 and 40 if minor support points or weapons depots, among other equipment, are included. At the height of the Cold warWashington operated some 50 major bases and more than 800 locations on German territory, ranging from huge airfields and barracks to listening posts. Many have closed since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.
Among those of greatest military importance is the air base of Ramsteinin the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, in the west of the country. It is the largest air base in the United States outside its territory. To understand the size of this base, it is enough to resort to data from the Pentagon, which estimates the number of soldiers permanently assigned there to be around 9,000. Additionally, if you add US civilian employees, local workers and family members, you reach a figure that ranges between 50,000 and 55,000 members of the US community around the base.
Strategic point
But Ramstein is much more than a military airport. Is a key logistics and operational center for the US military outside its territory. From here, troop movements, air transport, medical evacuations, as well as command and communication tasks for operations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East are coordinated. Ramstein is also home to essential command structures of the US Air Force in Europe and is considered indispensable to NATO’s rapid deployment capability, a strategic factor that has increased in importance since Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
All of this has led to it being defined as “an immobile aircraft carrier,” because for Washington it is a fundamental facility to project its power to the rest of the planet.
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What effects does withdrawing US troops from bases in Europe have?
Photo: Kai Pfaffenbach (REUTERS)
But this and other bases are not only of great importance for the United States. They are also an important economic driver for the regions where they are located, for example, through the employment of Germans or the consumption of American soldiers. In the case of Ramstein, for example, it would be a serious blow to the area’s finances. “The economic impact of the US military presence can be quantified at more than 2 billion dollars (about 1,706 million euros) per fiscal year,” said Ralf Hechler, mayor of Ramstein, this week.
With all these figures, it is not surprising that the German Defense Minister, Boris Pistorius, declared after learning of the Trump Administration’s decision to withdraw thousands of soldiers from German soil: “The presence of American soldiers in Europe, and especially in Germany, is in our interest and in that of the United States.”
Next to Ramstein, in the small town of Landstuhl, is the largest US military hospital abroad. Thanks to this, soldiers who are injured in missions abroad do not have to be transported to the United States to receive quick and quality medical treatment. Because the Landstuhl center has become obsolete over time, a new clinic is currently being built in the neighboring town of Weilerbach, at a cost of about $1.59 billion, which will also be the largest for the US Armed Forces outside its territory.
Operations centers
Likewise, the largest maneuvering field for American troops outside the United States is located near Grafenwöhr, in Bavaria. And in Stuttgart are the headquarters of the European Command (EUCOM) and the African Command (Africom) of the Armed Forces.
For its part, the headquarters of the US army in Europe is located in Wiesbaden, in the State of Hesse; F-16 fighter jets are stationed at the Spangdahlem air base, while some of the estimated 100 US nuclear weapons estimated to exist in Europe are located at Büchel air base (both in Rhineland-Palatinate).
In total, according to figures presented by the Pentagon in December, at the end of 2025 there were estimated to be around 84,000 troops in Europe. Of these, the vast majority, some 68,000, are permanently assigned to bases in various countries, and of them, 36,400 to those in Germany. This figure varies regularly due to rotations and exercises. This makes Germany the second largest American military base outside the United States, only after Japan. It has great strategic value for Washington, very far from many conflict regions of the world as is the case, now, of Iran.
The announcement made now to reduce this contingent by 5,000 soldiers is not seen as a measure that will have a great impact at first. The question, among others, will be to know which specific troops are going to withdraw. However, this is not the first time that Trump has threatened to reduce the number of troops. He already raised it in his first term because he considered Germany’s defense spending insufficient. However, these plans were stopped by his successor, Democrat Joe Biden.
American soldiers have been in Germany since the end of World War II. The bases for the stationing of soldiers were, after the end of the war, initially a right of occupation as the rest of the victorious countries, France, the United Kingdom and Russia, had. Then the Treaty of Estancia was signed in 1954, which converted these troops into allied defense forces. At that time, the objective was to be able to defend the young Federal Republic of Germany from threats from the East. The treaty was confirmed with German reunification in 1990. Added to this are the NATO Status of Forces agreements.
