The US Army in Europe has continued with its training programme despite diplomatic fallout with the Trump administration over Iran.
More than 15,000 NATO personnel will engage in activities ranging from cyber drills to armoured and infantry attacks across Eastern Europe and the Black Sea.
European states are reappraising the US as a partner due to leaks and briefings from within the Trump administration that have suggested punishing allies on the continent for perceived disloyalty.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz responded by saying Washington had been 'humiliated' by its failure to bring Iran to heel, telling school students the administration had entered the conflict without a plan and was now unable to extricate itself.
The US has posted that it is studying and reviewing reducing its troop contingent in Germany - although whether such forces might return to the U.S. or be moved to eastern Europe was initially unclear.
European insiders describe the situation as another sign of an increasingly unpredictable and sometimes 'schizophrenic' dynamic, with uniformed officials at US European Command talking up commitment and cooperation just as the White House, State Department and Pentagon leaders do the opposite.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has warned that Europe's biggest question is if the United States is ready to be as loyal as it is described in our NATO treaties.
The gap between US officers' measured language and that coming from the administration is increasingly jarring, with some European diplomats describing an almost 'nihilistic' rhetorical approach by the White House.
This signals a growing rift between the US and its European allies, who are struggling to understand the changing dynamics and respond accordingly.
The increasing unpredictability of US signals is causing concern among European allies, who are struggling to understand the changing dynamics.
