On his first day as mayor of Vilseck, Bavaria, Thorsten Grädler learned at an introductory press conference that his small town might lose 5,000 U.S. troops under President Trump’s announced cuts. The news, which a journalist relayed to him from a German media report, left Grädler visibly shaken. “Are you serious? This is hitting me hard,” he said, fighting back tears. He warned the consequences would be “dramatic.”
Vilseck, population about 6,500, hosts Rose Barracks and for decades has been home to the U.S. Army’s 2nd Cavalry Regiment, a Stryker infantry unit kept ready to deploy. If the unit and its dependents depart, Grädler estimates the town would lose another 12,000 to 13,000 people — roughly double its current population — because families would leave with the soldiers. He and local business owners say the economic and social fallout would be severe: Grädler put a potential annual revenue loss at more than $800 million.
More broadly, roughly 37,000 U.S. forces remain in Germany as part of a long-standing American presence dating to World War II and the Cold War. Bases on German soil have supported NATO deterrence, U.S. operations abroad and medical evacuations for wounded troops. Officials say a partial withdrawal would not amount to abandoning the U.S. role in Germany, but residents of towns like Vilseck worry about what it would mean for daily life.
Across Vilseck, many businesses depend heavily on American customers. Sabine Kederer, who runs Hotel Angerer and whose family has owned it since 1666, described U.S. service members and their families as integrated into town life — renting apartments, shopping, eating at local restaurants, joining soccer clubs and attending schools. “For us in Vilseck, normally we don’t split Germans, Americans. They are part of Vilseck,” she said.
Small-business owners are bracing for sharp declines in customers. Veronika Varga, who runs a dog-grooming shop, estimates 70% of her clients are American and worries she couldn’t keep her two employees without them. Fatmir Fazliji, owner of Friends Pizza, said about 90% of his clientele are Americans and warned that losing 5,000 troops would “affect everyone” and could be a downfall for the town. Retiree Albin Merkl, who rents apartments to U.S. personnel, said the soldiers have been friendly neighbors and good for local business.
Among U.S. troops and families, reactions are mixed. Robert Moore, a U.S. Army culinary sergeant who has been stationed in the area since 2022, said he enjoys living in Germany and has no complaints. But the prospect of redeployment or removal remains unsettling for service members and civilians alike.
At the Hammer Gasthof, a group of retired men drank beer and dismissed the idea as unlikely, pointing to past threats that never materialized. “This is only a stupid idea of Trump,” said Richard Schmidt, a retired businessman, though he acknowledged the town would be devastated if the troops left and estimated thousands of jobs could be lost.
For Vilseck, the debate is both strategic and intensely personal: it centers on alliances and defense but also on neighbors, friendships and local livelihoods forged over decades of close ties between the town and the American military community.