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Pentagon officials have decided to withdraw 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany, a major logistical hub for American troop movements around the world, including the Middle East.

The move comes in response to "theater requirements and conditions on the ground," Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement.

But the drawdown announcement lands amid the White House’s growing rift with European allies and Germany in particular. The country’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, earlier this week said Iran had "humiliated" the United States over the course of the war. After the remarks, President Donald Trump on April 29 said in a statement that the United States was studying a "reduction of Troops in Germany."

"The Secretary of War has ordered the withdrawal of approximately 5,000 troops from Germany," said Parnell, referring to Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth. "This decision follows a thorough review of the Department’s force posture in Europe and is in recognition of theater requirements and condithttps://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2026/05/01/us-will-withdraw-5k-troops-from-germany-pentagon-says/89901145007/ions on the ground."

Parnell said the withdrawal will happen over the course of six to 12 months.

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A new doctrine could soon take hold in part of the US war on drugs: psychedelic drugs for active-duty soldiers suffering from PTSD.

In two studies funded by the Department of Defense (DoD), 186 service personnel with PTSD will likely next year undergo multiple sessions of MDMA-assisted therapy.

The deputy under secretary of war for personnel and readiness, Sean O’Keefe, is following the research closely, a January letter shows, and a new group of DoD and Veterans Affairs (VA) department therapists are to begin training in psychedelic-assisted therapy next week ahead of soldier enrollment.

It is hoped guided sessions with the euphoria-inducing drug could, perhaps counterintuitively, help soldiers fight for their country for longer – and that once they leave the military they will not be crippled by traumatic stress.

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The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, will be heading home following a record-setting deployment of more than 300 days that included participating in the war against Iran and capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, two US officials said Wednesday.

The Ford will be leaving the Middle East in the coming days and returning to its home port in Virginia in mid-May, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to detail sensitive military movements. The Washington Post reported the development earlier.

The arrival of the USS George HW Bush to the region last week meant three American aircraft carriers were deployed to the Middle East – a number not seen since 2003 – during a tenuous ceasefire in the Iran war. The USS Abraham Lincoln also has been in the region since January as tensions with Tehran ramped up.

This month, the Ford broke the US record for the longest post Vietnam-war deployment, a nearly 10-month span after leaving Naval Station Norfolk in June.

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Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth is putting his stamp on religion and its role in the military.

He tossed out the Army's spiritual fitness guide in December, lamenting its lack of explicit references to God in favor of broader spirituality. He's held Christian prayer services at the Pentagon with controversial pastors and framed elements of the war in Iran in biblical terms.

He announced in March that the Pentagon would reduce the number of recognized religious affiliation codes, which are used in part to connect service members with necessary faith resources, and that military chaplains would no longer display, but still retain, their rank insignia.

The shakeups continued in April..

On the same day Hegseth asked Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George to step down and immediately retire, two other high-ranking officials were ousted, including Maj. Gen. William Green Jr., the Army’s chief of chaplains.

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When Kevin Benderman learned that the U.S. had entered a war with Iran, his mind teleported back about 20 years to Fort Hood, Texas — the day he received orders to deploy to Iraq. 

That deployment profoundly changed Benderman, an Army veteran now living in Augusta, Ga. Despite coming from a long line of military service, he said nothing prepared him for the trauma and loss that he endured.

" I'm just nervous and upset about what I know the young service members are going to be facing when they are in Iran and what they're already facing," he said.

That worry led him to drive to Washington D.C. earlier this week. He was joined by over 150 veterans and military families who occupied the Cannon House Office Building to call for an end to the war. The demonstration on Monday was abruptly ended by Capitol Police, who arrested a total of 66 people. About Face, a veteran group who helped organize the protest, said everyone arrested has been released.

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A US soldier who played a role in the January capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro is now in custody after allegedly cashing in over $400,000 on wagers about the politician’s removal from office, federal authorities announced on Thursday.

Prosecutors say beginning in early December the soldier, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, was involved in planning for the military operation to capture and depose Maduro.

Between early December and early January, Van Dyke allegedly placed 13 bets on Polymarket, a popular prediction market, related to American forces invading Venezuela and taking its head of state.

Van Dyke has been charged with commodities and wire fraud in addition to unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, according to the Department of Justice (DoJ). He is facing up to 60 years in prison.

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