U.S. to increase military presence in Germany

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced Tuesday that the U.S. military will increase its presence in Germany, recommitting the US to the NATO alliance in a reversal from the previous administration's plans to withdraw troops from the country.

The US will permanently station "approximately 500 additional U.S. personnel in the Wiesbaden area" of Germany and will be on the ground "as early as fall," Austin said during a news conference in Berlin.

"This planned increase in U.S. personnel underscores our commitment to Germany, and to the entire NATO alliance," CNN cited him as saying.

In his announcement Tuesday, Austin said the new personnel in Germany "will strengthen deterrence and defense in Europe, and they will augment our existing abilities to prevent conflict."

He said the forces would "create more space capabilities, more cyber and more electronic warfare capabilities in Europe" and "greatly improve our ability to surge forces at a moment's notice to defend our allies."