US may decide on first permanent Poland military base by December

Washington is expected to decide in December whether to establish its first permanent military base in Poland, Polish Deputy Defence Minister Stanisław Wziątek said on Friday, Oct. 30, though he cautioned the announcement could slip into early next year.

Speaking to Polish Radio, Wziątek said the decision rests solely with Washington and that a review of US forces stationed across Europe is largely complete, with a final report still being prepared.

General Dariusz Łukowski, former head of Poland's National Security Bureau, told the Polish daily Rzeczpospolita that the base would cost around 3 billion zloty (€700 million), with several billion more required for supporting infrastructure. Construction would take at least three years after Washington's approval, he said.

Łukowski identified four candidate locations: Wrocław in southwestern Poland, suited for an armoured brigade; Szczecin in the northwest, for its port facilities; Bydgoszcz in the north-central region, a hub for NATO command structures; and Poznań in the west, home to the US Army's V Corps forward command post.

He also warned that accommodating troops and their families would significantly expand the total footprint. "If there were 5,000 soldiers, that figure would rise to at least 15,000," Łukowski said, referring to the total number of people needing accommodation and services — requiring coordination across several government ministries.