The Pentagon has sent a questionnaire to NATO allies asking them to evaluate their commitment to defending Europe and their ability to assume a larger role as the United States reviews its military presence in the region.

The review, announced in June by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, examines the roughly 80,000‑troop U.S. force posture in Europe. Elbridge Colby, undersecretary of defense for policy, met with NATO ambassadors in Brussels on Aug. 27 and told reporters that the United States seeks predictability and effective operation, not an unconditional mandate.

The questionnaire, reported by the Financial Times, asks allies whether they support the NATO 3.0 concept, whether they publicly back U.S. foreign policy, and whether they restricted the use of bases or airspace during the Iran war. Responses were due on Friday. U.S. European Command referred questions to the Pentagon, which said the documents are not public.

Some NATO members fear the review will compel competition for U.S. troops and penalize countries that limited base access. A diplomat described the meeting as a “beauty contest” highlighting each nation’s implementation of NATO 3.0, while another called it a “scary exercise” aimed at securing allegiance to the United States.

The top U.S. commander in Europe, General Alexus Grynkewich, will present military recommendations to Colby next month, and the Pentagon plans to give Hegseth at least four possible courses of action by Nov. 6. Officials say the process is intended to reshape the trans‑Atlantic alliance so that European nations and Canada assume more of the conventional defense role.