“We see Poland as the model ally on the continent, willing to invest not just in their defense, but in our shared defense and the defense of the continent,” declared Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Warsaw, Poland.
Poland is a strategic frontline partner on NATO's eastern flank and a “model ally, not only in words,” said Secretary Hegseth. He added that “Poland leads by example, on a lot of things, including defense spending [and] building up Polish military readiness.”
While Diplomacy is important, said Secretary Hegseth, “ultimately, beans and bullets and tanks and helicopters and hard power still matters. Poland understands that and so do we.”
Poland is one of the few nations exceeding NATO burden sharing commitments. “And we're looking for even more ways to partner,” stated Secretary Hegseth.
“We are open and look forward to further solidifying how we can work together as it pertains to our defense industrial bases. We want to achieve peace through strength together. Deterrence, that defense industrial base, that's Apaches, F-35s, [M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System], Patriots, you name it. The more you have, the stronger we are.”
Secretary Hegseth thanked the Polish people for their support of the 8,000 American forces that are deployed in Poland. He thanked the Polish military for the amount of assistance they provide to U.S. forces.
“Investments by Poland make it easier for us to be here as well. Generous contributions from the Polish Treasury for infrastructure and logistics support for our troops to be here reduces the US taxpayer burden.”
That was something President Trump worked with Poland on in his first four years in office, and “we will continue to do that together as well,” stressed Secretary Hegseth.
“The level of partnership, just to underscore here, is unmatched in Europe. The common bond between our forces is unlike others in Europe. We have a shared warrior ethos, which we talked about, something I'm emphasizing, we're emphasizing at Donald Trump's Department of Defense.”
“We're ready, we're lethal, we're capable and we want to reinvest the warrior spirit,” declared Secretary Hegseth. “We want to rebuild our military and reestablish deterrence. I heard the exact same things from [the Polish military] leadership in our bilateral meeting, which is incredibly encouraging. No truer friend, no tougher foe than the Polish soldier.”
