# Off the Carolinas, NATO Proves Its Resilience Despite Trump

> Introduction: warships off the coast of North Carolina

- Author: Maxime Marquette
- Publisher: MadMax (https://mad-max.co)
- Section: Profile
- Published: 2026-07-04
- Canonical URL: https://mad-max.co/en/article/au-large-des-carolines-lotan-prouve-sa-resilience-malgre-trump

## Introduction: warships off the coast of North Carolina

### Exclusive access to a highly symbolic exercise

On **June 30, 2026**, off the coast of **North Carolina**, sailors heard an unambiguous radio warning ring out, in a distinctly Southern American accent: "Warship! Get out of our waters!" according to an exclusive **Reuters** report that gained privileged access to these maneuvers.

This **exercise** is part of a series of maneuvers hosted by the United States, dubbed **FLEETEX 250**, designed to test the defense of American **territory** and deliberately scheduled to coincide with the **250th anniversary** of American independence.

### A show of force at the most delicate moment for the Alliance

These maneuvers come at a particularly perilous moment for **NATO**, as the **Trump** administration publicly questions the value of the 77-year-old alliance, revises its force **posture** in **Europe** and piles on criticism of its longtime allies.

Despite this tense climate, Spanish, French and other allied sailors nonetheless took an active part in the exercises, sending a strong signal about the continued strength of transatlantic operational ties.

*I see in this striking contrast between political tension in Washington and concrete military cooperation on the ground proof that NATO, despite its repeated crises, retains a remarkable ability to separate campaign-trail rhetoric from the operational reality of the battlefield.*

## The backdrop of a Trump administration critical of NATO

### The "paper tiger" label

President **Trump** himself called **NATO** a "paper tiger" that would be ineffective without American involvement, a statement reported by **Reuters** in the broader context of tensions surrounding the allied response to the **war** waged by Israel and the United States against **Iran**.

This harsh rhetoric was reinforced by a tense Oval Office meeting with **NATO** Secretary General **Mark Rutte**, where **Trump** explicitly reprimanded the United Kingdom, **Spain**, Germany and **France** for not sufficiently backing American operations in **Iran**.

### A six-month review that worries Europeans

Defense Secretary **Pete Hegseth** announced, in an address at **NATO** headquarters, a six-month review of the American force **posture** in **Europe**, a revision that could lead to a significant reduction of American troops, aircraft and ships stationed on the **continent**.

Hegseth also denounced what he calls the "freeloading" of certain allies, insisting that the Alliance must now function as a genuine two-way street rather than a one-sided dependence on **Washington**.

*I acknowledge that Hegseth's blunt candor, however much it wounds the pride of several European capitals, raises a legitimate question the Alliance had avoided for decades: how much longer must American taxpayers subsidize the defense of countries largely capable of paying more for their own security?*

## Concrete exercises carried out despite the political storm

### Amphibious operations with Spanish Marines

Concretely, according to **Reuters'** direct observations during its exclusive access, Spanish **Marines** conducted amphibious landing operations during these exercises, demonstrating operational interoperability clearly unaffected by high-level diplomatic tensions.

These joint landing operations rank among the most **logistically** and **tactically** complex maneuvers, requiring fine-grained coordination between naval and ground forces from different nations.

### Heavy-weapons drills at Camp Lejeune

French **Marines**, for their part, took part in heavy machine-gun exercises at the **United States Marine Corps base at Camp Lejeune**, in **North Carolina**, according to details reported by **Reuters**, illustrating deep **tactical** integration between allies.

These heavy-weapons training exercises require a considerable level of mutual **trust** between the participating armed forces, a trust that appears to endure regardless of the political quarrels playing out at the governmental level.

*I find it remarkable that French soldiers are handling heavy weapons alongside their American counterparts just days after their own government was publicly rebuked by the American president; it reveals an institutional maturity that goes well beyond the political egos of the moment.*

## Anti-submarine warfare, a strategic pillar of the exercise

### An essential skill against the Russian threat

The **FLEETEX 250** maneuvers also included **anti-submarine warfare** exercises, a **military** skill deemed crucial given the growing **submarine** activity of the Russian **navy** in the North Atlantic and in the maritime approaches to the American **continent**.

This ability to detect and neutralize enemy submarines remains one of the Alliance's most technically demanding missions, requiring sophisticated equipment and constant training between allies.

### Defending American territory, not just Europe

The deliberate choice to hold these exercises off the American coast, rather than exclusively in the North Atlantic or in **Europe**, underscores a strategic shift: defending the American continental **territory** itself is becoming an explicit **objective** of allied cooperation.

This evolution illustrates a direct response to growing concerns over the expanding reach of adversary military capabilities, which are no longer confined to European waters alone.

*I believe this geographic extension of NATO cooperation all the way to the American coastline itself reflects a welcome strategic clarity: Western security can no longer be neatly divided between a "European theater" and an "American theater" isolated from one another.*

## Experts hail a credible deterrence message

### The analysis of NATO's former intelligence chief

**David Cattler**, NATO's former intelligence chief during **Trump's** first term, told **Reuters** that these maneuvers send a powerful message about European nations' capability and willingness to defend both shores of the Atlantic.

Cattler, however, tempered his analysis, doubting that this demonstration would fundamentally change the direction being considered at the **Pentagon**, where the strategic review launched by **Hegseth** follows its own logic independent of operational symbolism.

### Proof that working relationships remain strong

According to experts cited by **Reuters**, the **engagement** of allied forces at the operational level is an encouraging sign that working relationships between militaries remain robust, transcending the political turbulence seen at the top of their respective governments.

This distinction between the political level, marked by **friction**, and the operational level, marked by continuity, deserves to be highlighted as one of the most reassuring elements of this uncertain period for the Alliance.

*I believe this dichotomy between politics and operations is precisely NATO's structural strength: soldiers and sailors keep training together even as their leaders publicly bicker, an institutional resilience that deserves to be celebrated rather than taken for granted.*

## Lingering concern over the future of joint exercises

### The risk of a future decline in cooperation

Despite this positive demonstration, several experts cited by **Reuters** warn that if the **Pentagon** actually proceeds with a reduction of the American **military** presence in **Europe**, it could mechanically lead to fewer joint exercises in the future.

This prospect worries allied military planners, who view regular joint exercises as an essential pillar for maintaining interoperability among the Alliance's various national armed forces.

### The Turkish angle and the adaptation of the setup

According to additional **Reuters** reporting, **Turkey** has meanwhile indicated that **NATO** is adapting to the new global security landscape, while noting that the United States is not fully withdrawing from its commitments to the Alliance, an important nuance amid alarmist rumors.

This Turkish clarification aims to reassure the most worried partners that the American strategic review does not mean an outright abandonment of the historic **transatlantic** **engagement**.

*I choose to remain cautious in the face of these two contradictory readings: neither the doom-mongering of a total American withdrawal, nor the naive optimism of an unchanged status quo, likely corresponds to the complex reality currently taking shape within the Alliance.*

## A backdrop of accelerated European rearmament

### The ambitious target of 5% of GDP by 2035

These exercises come as **NATO's** European allies have collectively committed, at the summit in **The Hague**, to reaching a defense-spending **target** equivalent to **5% of GDP** by **2035**, a benchmark that would have seemed politically unattainable just a few years ago.

This ambitious budgetary trajectory, documented by several specialized analyses, illustrates the pressure exerted by the **Trump** administration, which ultimately produced a real and measurable acceleration of European **military** **investment**.

### Countries like Sweden are setting the example

Countries like **Sweden**, with its recent contract worth several hundred million dollars for air-defense systems, are a concrete illustration of this rearmament dynamic that accompanies and reinforces the credibility of this kind of joint naval **exercise** off the American coast.

This convergence between material investments and operational exercises paints the picture of an Alliance that, despite its communication crises, keeps concretely modernizing on the ground.

*I believe this combination of budgetary rearmament and joint operational exercises is the best possible response Europeans can give to the doubts voiced from Washington: rather than simply protesting, they are investing and training.*

## Command restructuring, another positive signal

### European officers now lead the force commands

An important structural development deserves to be highlighted: for the first time in the Alliance's history, European officers now lead all three of **NATO's** joint force commands, responsible for operations in times of crisis.

This transfer of responsibilities, documented in specialized defense-policy analyses, illustrates a more assertive European ownership of its own security, a development **Washington** actively encourages as part of its **burden**-**sharing** strategy.

### The United States retains key strategic posts

Despite this shift toward greater European responsibility, the United States retains control of **NATO's** three theater component commands, namely the maritime, land and air commands, as well as the Alliance's highest **military** post, Supreme Allied Commander **Europe**.

This balance between shared responsibilities and continued American **leadership** illustrates a gradual **transition** rather than an abrupt break in the Alliance's **command** structure.

*I consider this gradual shift toward a more equitable sharing of command responsibilities to be exactly the kind of structural reform NATO should have begun long ago, independent of the momentary pressures of any given American administration.*

## The symbolic dimension of America's 250th anniversary

### A celebration turned into a show of force

The choice to schedule these exercises to coincide with the **250th anniversary** of American independence adds a strong **symbolic** dimension to these maneuvers, turning a historical celebration into a concrete demonstration of Western **military** solidarity.

This calendar alignment, whether coincidental or deliberately planned by military organizers, reinforces the message sent to both allies and the West's potential adversaries.

### A message aimed at Russia, China and Iran

Amid a geopolitical context marked by the growing ambitions of **Russia**, **China**, **Iran** and **North Korea**, this show of **naval** **force** off the American coast sends a **deterrence** signal that reaches well beyond the strictly **transatlantic** framework.

The active participation of multiple allied nations in this **exercise**, despite the political tensions, illustrates a functional unity that remains one of the West's best strategic assets against these rival powers.

*I remain convinced that China, even more than Russia over the long run, is watching this kind of demonstration closely to gauge the real solidity of Western unity; every joint exercise that succeeds despite political tension is therefore a first-order strategic message aimed at Beijing.*

## The limits and gray areas of this demonstration

### A unity that remains politically fragile

It would nonetheless be naive to conclude that this successful operational demonstration erases the very real political tensions that persist between **Washington** and several allied capitals, notably over financial **burden**-**sharing** and solidarity during recent crises such as the one in **Iran**.

These exercises, however encouraging, do not resolve the fundamental disagreements over the long-term future of the American **engagement** in **Europe**, an issue that remains suspended on the outcome of the strategic review being conducted by the **Pentagon**.

### An uncertain future for the frequency of these exercises

As several experts cited by **Reuters** point out, there is no guarantee that this kind of joint **exercise** will continue at the same frequency if the reductions of American forces in **Europe** materialize in the months ahead following **Hegseth's** review.

This structural uncertainty warrants caution in interpreting these maneuvers, which represent a one-time positive signal rather than a guarantee of long-term operational continuity.

*I prefer to temper my initial enthusiasm with this honest caveat: applauding a successful exercise today must not blind us to the very real uncertainties weighing on tomorrow's transatlantic military cooperation.*

## What this means for North American security

### A new priority for continental defense

These exercises mark a notable shift in the very conception of Western security, where defending North American **territory** becomes a shared **objective** with European allies, rather than a strictly American and Canadian national responsibility.

This evolution reflects a more mature understanding of contemporary threats, which no longer respect the traditional geographic boundaries between distinct theaters of operation.

### Canada, a natural partner in this dynamic

Although not explicitly mentioned in the details of this specific **exercise**, **Canada**, as the United States' immediate neighbor and a founding member of **NATO**, remains directly affected by this strategic shift toward a more integrated continental defense with European allies.

This dynamic could eventually prompt Ottawa to further strengthen its own participation in similar joint exercises, in keeping with its historic **engagement** to the Atlantic Alliance.

*I believe Canada, often on the sidelines of discussions over NATO burden-sharing, would benefit from drawing inspiration from this dynamic to strengthen its own military credibility with its North American and European partners.*

## Institutional resilience as the real hero of this story

### Institutions that outlast individual egos

In the end, the true protagonist of this story may be neither **Trump**, nor **Hegseth**, nor even **Rutte**, but the **institution** of **NATO** itself, which demonstrates a remarkable ability to maintain its operational cohesion despite decades of cyclical political tensions among its members.

This institutional resilience, built on 77 years of shared history, is a strategic asset that neither the harshest criticism nor the fiercest political crises seem able to easily dismantle.

### A lesson in humility for all the doom-saying commentators

This demonstration should prompt a measure of humility among commentators, myself included at times, who have occasionally been too quick to announce the imminent death of the Atlantic Alliance at every fiery new statement out of **Washington**.

The reality, as is often the case in geopolitics, turns out to be more nuanced: **NATO** is going through a real crisis of political **trust**, but its operational foundation remains surprisingly solid, as these sailors off the coast of the Carolinas have just shown.

*I include myself in this necessary humility: like many observers, I probably underestimated this Alliance's purely operational capacity for resilience against political tensions I judged to be potentially more destructive than they ultimately turned out to be.*

## Toward a new, more balanced alliance model

### Burden-sharing finally in real motion

What this sequence of events truly reveals, between joint exercises and rising European defense budgets, is the gradual emergence of a more balanced alliance model, one in which European countries assume a growing and legitimate share of their own security.

This rebalancing, however politically painful for certain capitals accustomed to American **protection**, could paradoxically strengthen the Alliance's long-term durability by making it less dependent on the vagaries of American domestic politics.

### A transition to watch closely in the coming months

The coming months, marked by the expected conclusion of the **Pentagon's** strategic review led by **Hegseth**, will determine concretely whether this **transition** toward more equitable **burden**-**sharing** results in a weakened Alliance or, on the contrary, a more resilient Alliance with responsibilities better distributed among its members.

This **transition** period deserves sustained attention from observers and Western citizens alike, since its outcome will shape the continent's security architecture for decades to come.

*I choose to end on a note of cautious hope: if this transition is handled seriously by all parties involved, it could produce a more mature and more durable Atlantic Alliance than the comfortably dependent one we have known since the end of the Cold War.*

## What citizens of allied countries think

### Popular support that remains broadly stable

Despite the highly publicized political tensions between leaders, opinion polls conducted in several European countries continue to show relatively stable public support for **NATO** membership, even as **trust** in specifically American **leadership** has eroded in recent years.

This distinction between support for the **institution** itself and growing wariness toward certain specific American leaders reflects a political maturity among Western public opinion that deserves to be highlighted.

### European youth more supportive of rearmament than before

Notably, several opinion studies suggest that the younger generation in **Europe**, historically more skeptical of military spending, is now more favorable to rearmament in the face of the **war** in **Ukraine** and persistent tensions with **Russia**.

This generational shift in attitude could politically ease the achievement of the ambitious defense-spending targets set by the Alliance for the coming decade, a factor often overlooked in strictly governmental analyses.

*I find it encouraging that the generation set to inherit the long-term consequences of these strategic choices seems increasingly aware of the need to invest seriously in its own collective security, rather than taking indefinite outside protection for granted.*

## Conclusion: NATO, sturdier than it appears

### A clear message sent from American waters

These exercises held off the coast of **North Carolina**, despite the tense political climate in **Washington**, show that the Atlantic Alliance retains real operational capacity and a shared will to collectively defend Western **territory**, from European shores all the way to the American coastline itself.

This resilience, documented in black and white by **Reuters'** exclusive reporting, deserves recognition as one of the most reassuring developments of a geopolitical period otherwise marked by uncertainty and **diplomatic** **friction**.

### A vigilance that must nonetheless endure

This good operational news should not, however, obscure the very real structural challenges that persist, notably the uncertain outcome of the **Pentagon's** strategic review and the political tensions still very much alive between **Washington** and several allied capitals.

It is precisely this combination of operational resilience and constant political vigilance that will allow the West to get through this **transition** period without compromising its collective security against Russian, Chinese, Iranian and North Korean threats that, for their part, show no sign of weakening.

*I will end this profile convinced that history will likely remember not the tweets and summit rebukes, but these Spanish, French and American sailors training together off the coast of the Carolinas, because they, ultimately, embody the concrete promise of Article 5.*

**By Maxime Marquette, columnist**

## Columnist's transparency note

### Editorial stance

I am not a journalist but a **columnist and analyst**. My expertise lies in observing and analysing the geopolitical, economic and strategic dynamics that shape our world. My work is to take political strategies apart, to understand global economic movements, to put the decisions of international actors in context and to offer analytical perspectives on the changes that are redefining our societies.

I do not claim the cold objectivity of traditional journalism, which stops at reporting facts. **I claim analytical clarity**, rigorous interpretation and a deep understanding of the complex issues that concern us all. My role is to give meaning to the facts, to place them in their historical and strategic context, and to offer a critical reading of events.

### Method and sources

This text keeps the basic distinction between **verified facts and interpretive analysis**. The rule never changes: a factual claim is published only when a verifiable source supports it, and the sources this article actually used are listed under **Sources**, never here.

**Primary source families** used by the publication, when the story has them: official statements from governments and international institutions, public statements by political leaders, reports from intergovernmental organisations, dispatches from recognised international news agencies.

**Secondary source families**: specialised publications, internationally recognised news media, analyses from established research institutions, reports from industry organisations.

When an article cites statistical, economic or geopolitical data, it comes from the institutions that produce it (intergovernmental organisations, central banks, national statistics offices), and the exact institution is named under **Sources**.

### Nature of the analysis

The analyses, interpretations and perspectives in the analytical sections of this article are a **critical, contextual synthesis** based on the information available, the trends observed and the expert comments cited in the sources consulted.

My role is to interpret these facts, to set them in the context of today's geopolitical and economic dynamics, and to give them a coherent meaning within the larger story of the changes shaping our time. These analyses reflect expertise built through continuous observation of international affairs and an understanding of the strategic mechanisms that drive global actors.

This article describes a documented state of affairs on its publication date, not a prediction: later developments may shift its outlook. No update is promised in advance; when an article is corrected or completed, the change is dated in the text.

## Sources

### Primary sources

- [Reuters — NATO joins exercises off US coast, even as it loses political fight in Trump's Washington, June 30, 2026](https://www.reuters.com/world/nato-joins-exercises-off-us-coast-even-it-loses-political-fight-trumps-2026-06-30/)

- [Reuters — Europeans fill almost all gaps left by US NATO defence plans, source says, July 1, 2026](https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/europeans-fill-almost-all-gaps-left-by-us-nato-defence-plans-source-says-2026-07-01/)

- [Boston Globe — NATO US military cutbacks, July 3, 2026](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/07/03/world/nato-us-military-cutbacks/)

### Secondary sources

- [Hudson Institute — Optics of US NATO training absence do not look good, Luke Coffey](https://www.hudson.org/security-alliances/optics-us-nato-training-absence-do-not-look-good-luke-coffey)

- [New York Times — US NATO cuts drawdown jets, June 12, 2026](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/12/world/europe/us-nato-cuts-drawdown-jets.html)

- [CBC — NATO spending defence Canada US criticism](https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/nato-spending-defence-canada-us-criticism-9.7239006)

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Source: Maxime Marquette, MadMax. When citing, name the author and link https://mad-max.co/en/article/au-large-des-carolines-lotan-prouve-sa-resilience-malgre-trump