The newly-appointed US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is preparing to travel to Europe, where he’s expected to attend a number of events, including t
The trip will begin on 10 February, as per the Pentagon’s site.
His itinerary includes Germany, Belgium, and Poland where he’ll “engage with US and Allied leaders on strengthening deterrence, supporting warfighters, and advancing America’s national security interests.”
In Germany, he’ll visit US European Command (USEUCOM) and US Africa Command (AFRICOM) headquarters to meet with senior military leaders and receive updates on operations in both theaters.
“He will also meet with US service members stationed in Germany to reaffirm the administration’s commitment to their mission and readiness,” the site reads.
Hegseth is slated to attend the NATO Defense Ministerial and the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) meeting. While there, he’ll press the Allies and partners on the “need to boost Allied defense spending, increase European leadership, and expand defense industrial base capacity on both sides of the Atlantic.”
“At the UDCG, the first to be chaired by the United Kingdom, the Secretary will reiterate President Trump’s commitment for a diplomatic end to the war in Ukraine as quickly as possible. He will also highlight the need for increased European leadership on security assistance to Ukraine,” the site reads.
Poland is Hegseth’s final stop, “where he will meet with Polish leaders to discuss our strong bilateral defense cooperation, continued deterrence efforts along NATO’s eastern flank, and Poland’s leadership as a model ally in defense investment and burden-sharing in NATO. He will also visit US troops stationed in Poland to discuss their critical role in the region.”
