US European forces chief calls for more resources to make sure that USA remains the dominant actor in the maritime domain. Naval Today:

“As you know … we’re looking at an evolving and modernizing Russian fleet,” Army Gen. Curtis M. Scaparrotti told the committee. “If we want to remain dominant in the maritime domain — in particular, the undersea, which we are today — we have got to continue to modernize and continue to build capacity.”

The specifics of what Scaparrotti needs in Europe would be revealed later in the day during a closed session with the committee, but he openly said he’d need two more naval destroyers and that Eucom would need to enhance its anti-submarine warfare capability as well.

Additionally, the general said he’d like to see rotations of naval components, including carrier strike groups and amphibious strike groups, “at a little better pace than I’ve seen in the three years I’ve been in command.”

Meanwhile, Trump Seeks Huge Premium From Allies Hosting U.S. Troops:

Under White House direction, the administration is drawing up demands that Germany, Japan and eventually any other country hosting U.S. troops pay the full price of American soldiers deployed on their soil — plus 50 percent or more for the privilege of hosting them, according to a dozen administration officials and people briefed on the matter. […]

As evidence, they say officials at the Pentagon have been asked to calculate two formulas: One would determine how much money countries such as Germany ought to be asked to pay. The second would determine the discount those countries would get if their policies align closely with the U.S.

As part of the planning, the U.S. is also weighing whether to ask countries to pay for things they traditionally haven’t covered, such as soldier salaries or the cost of port visits by aircraft carriers and submarines, according to the people.

So a general says that US needs more warships in Europe in order to remain the dominant military power, and Donald Trump wants the Europeans to pay? It’s unbelievable that Trump cannot see that being a superpower is beneficial for the United States too.