The townspeople of Vilseck, Germany, worry that Trump may pull out 5,000 U.S. troops

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. The townspeople of Vilseck, Germany, worry that Trump may pull out 5,000 U. troops May 16, 20266:00 AM ET Rob Schmitz Mayor Thorsten Grädler of Vilseck, Germany, discovered that his town could be the target of President Trump's U. troop cuts on his first day in office, when a journalist told him during a press conference.

Grädler says the impact on his town would be "dramatic. " Lisi Niesner/ hide caption toggle caption Lisi Niesner/ VILSECK, Germany — It was Thorsten Grädler's first day on the job as mayor of the Bavarian town of Vilseck when, at his introductory press conference, a journalist broke it to him. "Did you hear the news?

The Details

It's bad news," said the journalist, informing the new mayor of a German media report that President Trump's announced cuts to the U. troop presence in Germany would mean the removal of 5,000 soldiers from the town he'd just been elected to run. Mayor Grädler's face sank.

This is hitting me hard, I have to admit," he said, his eyes welling up with tears. "I'm pretty emotional, actually. " Sponsor Message Consider This from NPR Trump says he's pulling U.

Since that day, Grädler has been busy doing interviews with international media that have descended on his tiny town, population 6,500. While he finishes up his fifth interview of the day, the town's church bell rings noon, and roosters in the alley behind Vilseck City Hall respond with a chorus of cock-a-doodle-doos. View of Vilseck in the Upper Palatinate.

What Experts Say

Department of Defense announced its intention to withdraw about 5,000 of the approximately 37,000 U. soldiers stationed in Germany. Bayerischer Rundfunk reported that the so-called Stryker Brigade in Vilseck, Bavaria, would be affected.

Lisi Niesner/ hide caption toggle caption Lisi Niesner/ This tiny Bavarian town has a 1,000-year-old castle, a 700-year-old watchtower, and a mayor in office for just a few days who's facing one of the town's biggest crises in its history. "If what they say is true," says Grädler, "and 5,000 soldiers are taken from our town, along with their family members, we're talking another 12,000 to 13,000 people leaving Vilseck. That's double the number of the people who reside here.

This will have dramatic consequences. " The Impact of War Combat Medicine: Fast-Tracking Troops to Germany More than 37,000 U. forces remain in Germany, part of the U.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.