Poland’s Security Chief Says Suspended US Troop Rotation Will Be Completed, Permanent Base and Nuclear Sharing Under Discussion
After talks in Washington, Polish National Security Bureau head Bartosz Grodecki stated that the halted rotation of a US armored brigade to Poland is not in question and will be finished, while both a permanent base and Nuclear Sharing remain on the table.
Washington meetings
On Thursday, July 2, Poland's National Security Bureau chief Bartosz Grodecki met in Washington with US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby, the official responsible for US force posture in Europe. The session followed a July 1 conversation between Marcin Przydacz, head of the Presidential International Policy Bureau, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
- Rotation of a US armored brigade from Texas to Poland is suspended.
- Marcin Przydacz meets Secretary of State Marco Rubio; Rubio supports permanent basing, but no Pentagon decision on the suspended brigade.
- Bartosz Grodecki meets Under Secretary Elbridge Colby; confirms the rotation will be completed, permanent base on agenda, US open to Nuclear Sharing.
Rotation to be completed
Grodecki made clear that planners are still working on the details and no timeline or specific unit has been named, but the core decision is settled.
If it comes to completing the rotation, we are still waiting for planning work to finish. No deadline was given, nor information on which specific unit we can expect on Polish territory, but – what is significant – the question of whether that unit will arrive is not at all being questioned.
He added that military planners will settle the particulars “as soon as possible.”
Permanent base on the agenda
Separating the rotation question from the idea of a permanent US facility, Grodecki stressed that Washington is receptive. Poland must now move quickly with a formal offer backed by a special law to accelerate construction.
The permanent base is on the agenda, there is great will to start this project. The direct and very good, or excellent, relations between the presidents, the Polish president and President Trump, obviously have a huge influence on that decision.
Poland needs to submit an initial offer containing a schedule and financing package. Grodecki estimated that building the infrastructure would take at least two to three years and cost several billion zlotys, a sum he called manageable given current defense expenditures.
Nuclear sharing openness
Grodecki noted that the US side showed “enormous openness” toward bringing Poland into NATO’s Nuclear Sharing program, though no formal steps were announced.
Earlier signals from the Rubio meeting
A day earlier, Przydacz had cautioned that the suspended 4,000-strong brigade from Texas might not rotate. He confirmed, however, that the US declaration of an additional 5,000 soldiers had been upheld. Rubio expressed strong support for shifting the American presence from a rotational model to a permanent one. Grodecki’s subsequent remarks, however, made clear that the halted rotation itself will go ahead once planning is complete. He described current US troop levels in Poland at roughly 10,000 personnel.
