Who’s in Command? Pentagon Reconsiders NATO Role

The Pentagon’s internal debate over restructuring key military commands — including potentially ending the U.S. monopoly over NATO’s top post — has raised red flags among generals and lawmakers alike, amid growing unease in Europe.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is reportedly weighing whether to merge U.S. European and Africa Commands, and even end America’s 75-year hold on the role of NATO’s supreme allied commander in Europe — known as SACEUR.

General Christopher Cavoli, who currently holds both posts, warned senators Thursday that such a shift could severely complicate nuclear command structures and the U.S. military's global coordination.

"I would have the responsibility for 50 more countries... it would be a stretch," Cavoli told the Senate Armed Services Committee, referring to a potential merger with U.S. Africa Command.

Since NATO’s founding, every SACEUR has been an American. Removing that tradition would raise critical questions about who leads U.S. troops overseas, especially in nuclear scenarios.

“I think those are things that would have to be considered carefully,” Cavoli cautioned.

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Hegseth has criticised the number of four- and three-star generals in U.S. service, suggesting the military’s upper ranks may be due for a trim.

The potential command shake-up comes at a time when Europe’s confidence in American support is wavering.

President Donald Trump’s shifting posture toward NATO and Ukraine, including a recent cut-off in aid after a tense Oval Office exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has already stirred anxiety across the Atlantic.

"Maybe we should have a conversation about the Supreme Allied Commander role," said Senator Eric Schmitt, adding that keeping an American general in the post might be “furthering a ruse.”

He quoted Dwight Eisenhower, NATO’s first commander, who once said: “If in 10 years, all American troops stationed in Europe for national defense purposes have not been returned to the United States, then this whole project (NATO) will have failed.”

General Cavoli also warned of the consequences for Ukraine, should U.S. support diminish further.

“It would obviously have a rapid and deleterious effect on their ability to fight,” he said.

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