January 31, 2012

USS Vella Gulf Concludes Port Visit To Sevastopol, Ukraine

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The guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf (CG 72) concluded its port visit to Sevastopol, Ukraine, Jan. 30.

January 30, 2012

Combined Endeavor 2012 planning begins in Slovak Republic

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The week-long initial planning conference for exercise Combined Endeavor 2012 (CE12), U.S. European Command’s largest communications interoperability exercise, began today with more than 250 participants attending to begin planning.

January 30, 2012

This Week in EUCOM History: January 30 - February 5, 1953

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The 1953 North Sea flood was a major flood caused by a heavy storm that occurred on the night of Saturday, Jan. 31, and morning of Feb. 1, 1953. The floods struck the Netherlands, Belgium, England and Scotland.

January 30, 2012

Ukrainian Sailors Tour USS Vella Gulf

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Ukrainian naval officers and sailors visited the guided-missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf (CG 72) on Jan. 27 and 28, during a scheduled port visit.

January 27, 2012

U.S. Air Forces in Europe turns 70

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Jan. 28, 2012 marks U.S. Air Forces in Europe's 70th birthday. Throughout the year USAFE and Team Ramstein will honor its mission, people and heritage by reminding everyone of USAFE's accomplishments - then and now - from the Second World War, through the Cold War, and in today's expeditionary era.

January 24, 2012

Dutch Defense Minister Visits Fort Hood

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Dutch Defense Minister Hans Hillen came to Fort Hood Jan. 10 to meet with his troops training here under the 21st Cavalry Brigade (Air Combat).

January 23, 2012

This Week in EUCOM History: January 23-29, 1995

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Russia almost launches a nuclear attack after it mistakes Black Brant XII, a Norwegian research rocket, for a US Trident missile.

January 20, 2012

DOD Seminar seeks insight to revolutions across regions

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Ninety seven participants from 47 countries covering three combatant commands – U.S. Africa, Central and European Command – are working over nine days to better define what’s happening in countries like Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Syria and other nations. Speakers include academics, military leaders and others involved with the change process in those nations.

January 20, 2012

Polish military leader visits base, student fighter pilots

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As part of a whirlwind tour of U.S. military commands, the Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, Gen. Mieczysław Cieniuch, visited the 162nd Fighter Wing here at Tucson International Airport Jan. 12.

January 18, 2012

This Week in EUCOM History: January 16-22, 1966

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Within EUCOM’s area of resposnibility, a B-52 bomber collided with a KC-135 Stratotanker over Spain, dropping three 70-kiloton nuclear bombs near the town of Palomares and another one into the sea.

January 17, 2012

Bataan Displays Osprey Capabilities

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A small group of French aviators and aircraft specialists flew out to USS Bataan while the ship was transiting the Strait of Bonifacio in order to inspect the Ospreys of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263 (VMM 263), and to see how they are operated and maintained onboard an amphibious ship.

January 15, 2012

Navy Aircrew Assists in At-Sea Rescue

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An aircrew assigned to Patrol Squadron 47, operating from Naval Air Station Sigonella, Sicily, sprang into action to help rescue 68 people adrift on a powerless raft in the Mediterranean Sea, Jan. 15, more than 80 miles from the southwest coast of Malta.

January 10, 2012

RAF Mildenhall, French air force continue relationships

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The 100th Air Refueling Wing hosted 15 French air force personnel from Base Aérienne 125, Istres, France, here Jan. 4 and 5, to build and strengthen partnerships created during Operation Unified Protector.

January 9, 2012

Helping hands: USACE, EUCOM, USAID bring virtual health care to Albanian hospitals

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Designated areas at the “Mother Teresa” University Hospital Center and three other major regional hospitals throughout the country are being renovated to house new telemedicine and e-health centers.

January 8, 2012

This Week in EUCOM History: January 8-15, 1984

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The United States and Vatican City established full diplomatic relations after 117 years.

January 1, 2012

This Week in EUCOM History: January 1-7, 1993

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In Moscow, George Bush and Boris Yeltsin sign the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).

December 25, 2011

This Week in EUCOM History: December 25-31, 1991

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On Dec. 25, 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as president of the Soviet Union. The next day, the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union meets and formally dissolves the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

December 22, 2011

Reconstruction Project Groundbreaking in Pranjani, Serbia

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On Dec. 22, Ambassador Mary Warlick visited the village of Pranjani in the municipality of Gornji Milanovac to attend the groundbreaking ceremony of a $700,000 reconstruction project.

December 19, 2011

HAW reaches 6,000 flight hours

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After 29 months of operation by the multinational Heavy Airlift Wing team, U.S. Air Force Major Brian Nicosia and his flightcrew passed the 6,000 flight-hours milestone of C-17 Globemaster IIIs assigned to Papa Air Base, Hungary.

December 18, 2011

This Week in EUCOM History: December 18--24, 1995

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NATO began its peacekeeping mission in Bosnia and officially ended Operation Deny Flight, in which EUCOM forces played a major role.

January 30, 2012

Outline shaping up for Chicago summit

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After a busy week of meetings and presentations in London, Berlin, and Washington DC, I am beginning to see the outline of key NATO conversations at the summit in May.

January 24, 2012

Trojans, Malware and Botnets got you down…?

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We know that cyber attacks are employed not just for cyber crime (i.e. to access your bank account), but also to discredit national agencies and governments (i.e. the cyber attacks against Estonia and Georgia). It is incumbent on all of us to “know our enemy” to best defend against such attacks. The best means for doing so is for governments to regularly partner with academia and the private sector (i.e. with IT safety enterprises) to form a sort of cyber coalition.

January 17, 2012

Preparing for ILC 2012

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We’ve set a date for this year’s International Legal Conference – Sept. 7-9 – now we just have to find a location.

January 12, 2012

Top Five Books of 2011

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I've spent a lot of time traveling this past year, which is a huge part of the job. As a result, I've had plenty of time to read, which is the best way to build intellectual capital as well as learn about other countries and experiences. Here are five books I particularly enjoyed reading this year.

January 3, 2012

Afghanistan in 2012

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The New Year is unfolding, and I'm thinking about Afghanistan. I think there are three keys to our success in the security sector, where NATO and the International Coalition have the largest share of the work to do.

December 20, 2011

NATO in 2011 – Five Key Events

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As I look back on 2011, I think we had a reasonably good year in the operational sense. Lots of good “end of the year” retrospectives are appearing in various magazines and on-line sites, and I thought I’d chip in with my own top five operational moments for the Alliance this past year – and a hope that it stays at least relatively quiet between now and the end of the year.Stavridis

December 5, 2011

Three Failures and What I Learned From Each …

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I was speaking this past fall to a group of Cadets and Midshipmen, young college students bound for military careers. They asked me to talk a little about my career and what I’d learned along the way. After pausing and thinking for a minute, I realized the three events that swam into focus were all moments of failure. Yet from each of them I learned something valuable that I still carry around in my mind.

December 1, 2011

LOGEX 2011: A Review

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During the past two weeks I really came to realize what a joint environment was really like. Having worked for the EUCOM J4 for only three months my experience was limited at best, despite three deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan under my belt.

November 23, 2011

Phishing: You want to let this "phish" get away

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When you think of phishing, what comes to mind? Do you visualize a targeted cyber attack on unsuspecting victims?

November 22, 2011

School donation continues long-standing relationship with Poland

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Just last week, I visited the Krakow School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, which was heavily damaged in the spring floods of 2010, to deliver furniture and pianos donated by the U.S. Government.

November 17, 2011

Humanitarian Assistance for Latvian Fire and Rescue

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Since fall 2008 US Embassy's Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC Latvia) and State Fire and Rescue Service of Latvia (SFRS) have identified and submitted 10 Civic Engagement (Humanitarian Assistance) projects for renovations of fire stations all over Latvia.

November 16, 2011

“Black Gold, Texas Tea”

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Cooperation on Energy Security issues is in Lithuania’s and the United State’s common interests. The MOU outlines ways in which both organizations, EUCOM and the Energy Security Center, can continue to work and coordinate together.

November 9, 2011

Interacting with AID

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At the invitation of my good friend and colleague, AID Administrator Raj Shah, I had the chance to speak to his senior team about their extraordinary work on global issues of poverty, disease, and economic development.

November 8, 2011

Our German Hosts

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Despite the above statements professing modesty and a reluctance to lead or assist, after meeting these two groups I was left with the decided impression that “leading” and “assisting” are exactly what our German hosts are doing these days, and doing well.

October 31, 2011

Learning to Institutionalize Partnership

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"2011 Soft Power Symposium" hosted by Pepperdine University and the League for Hope, an NGO that promotes public-private partnership to foster educational, medical, and commercial opportunities for disadvantaged populations.

October 29, 2011

Security and Literacy: Improving and Intertwined in Afghanistan

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I just attended literacy training -- in Wardak Province, Afghanistan.

October 24, 2011

National Cyber Security Awareness Month: How are you protecting your cyber-identity?

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This “two-factor” login significantly increases the level of protection used for that account and is also the system used when withdrawing money out of the bank. As we approach the end of October’s National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM), I wanted to draw attention to a similar strategy that is available to help protect personal accounts from abuse.

October 21, 2011

A few words on Human Rights...

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I recently was lucky enough to win the Athenagoras Human Rights Award, presented annually for exemplifying “concern for the basic rights and religious freedom of all people.” Past winners have included Presidents Bush and Carter, Mother Theresa, Bishop Tutu, and many world religious leaders over the past twenty years.

October 17, 2011

Cyber Education: Why it's important to You

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Shaun Cavanaugh's thoughts on formal cyber education and workforce development.

October 12, 2011

Developing a True Strategic Partnership with Russia

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My visit was part of NATO’s outreach and desire to develop a “true strategic partnership with Russia,” as it says in the Strategic Concept approved at the Lisbon Summit last fall. In my role as the Supreme Allied Commander, I continue to search for zones of cooperation with the Russian military.

February 1, 2012

The USAFE Band traveled all the way to Vienna, Austria, to provide some entertainment at a very unique venue.

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The USAFE Band traveled all the way to Vienna, Austria, to provide some entertainment at a very unique venue...the International Officer’s Ball. SSgt Nathan Parry heard the band building partnerships one note at a time.

February 1, 2012

U.S. EUCOM Chaplain (Col.) Brian Van Sickle speaks to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina local media.

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U.S. EUCOM Chaplain (Col.) Brian Van Sickle speaks to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina local media about the mission of the International Military Chiefs of Chaplains conference this year.

January 25, 2012

Renovation at Special School for Hearing Impaired Children

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Ambassador Moser visited School Number 12 for Hearing Impaired Children in Chisinau's Botanica District to celebrate the renovation of the school's main entrance and the addition of a new wheelchair ramp. The United States has invested over $20,000 in improvements for School Number 12 in addition to private donations from citizens of North Carolina, Ambassador Moser's home state.

January 18, 2012

New goals for Black Sea Rotational Force training

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One example of how units rotate to train is with the Black Sea Rotational Force. Recently the commander of Marine Forces Europe traveled to Camp Pendelton, California, to visit with the unit that’s getting ready to deploy to the Black Sea area.

January 18, 2012

A different mission for the 40th Engineer Battalion

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The Northern border of Afghanistan is a vital supply route for ISAF forces. It’s also an important source of revenue for the Afghan government. Petty Officer Brandon Shelander tells us how Alpha Company of the 40th Engineer Battalion, based in Baumholder, Germany, protects the Afghan border crossing by building relationships and a combat outpost.

January 11, 2012

MPs and German police team up for K-9 training

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Airmen, Soldiers, and German police recently got together to train with man’s best friend. A1C Nate Gettleman has the story from Ramstein Air Base.

December 19, 2011

International Combatives

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While fighting an enemy military force has become very high-tech, troops never know when they'lll find themselves in a situation where the fight will go hand-to-hand. Airmen of the Belgian Air Component came to Sembach, Germany, to train at Regional Training Center Creek Defender with U.S. troops.

December 19, 2011

KFOR troops test freedom of movement in Kosovo

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Kosovo has been relatively calm over the past few years. However, freedom of travel restrictions in the country have become a recent concern for NATO and the region.

December 15, 2011

Intelligence Soldiers work with German troops to "clear" city

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In Hamelburg, Germany, U.S. troops teamed up with their German counterparts to sharpen their skills by clearing an entire town.

December 15, 2011

Soldier honored by German government for gallantry

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In the United States military, heroes aren’t hard to come by. When a Soldier receives as high an award as the Medal of Honor from another country, his peers know he must have done something uniquely extraordinary.

December 9, 2011

Soldiers of the Special Operations Command Europe pride themselves as quiet professionals, but sometimes certain actions deserve special recognition.

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Soldiers of the Special Operations Command Europe pride themselves as quiet professionals, but sometimes certain actions deserve special recognition. SSG Joe Labutka has more on a valor ceremony for several heroic men and their amazing deeds.

December 8, 2011

Combined Endeavor 2011 Exercise

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Combined Endeavor 2011 is the world's largest communications interoperability exercise, preparing international forces' command, control, communications and computer systems for multinational operations. Hosted by USEUCOM, this year's exercise has made great strides in moving from functional testing towards operational testing.

December 8, 2011

Cyber Endeavor 2011

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Cyber Endeavor is the United States European Command's paramount cyber security collaboration, familiarization and engagement program designed to strengthen partner nation cyber defense capacities through seminars, events and exercise support. Cyber Endeavor builds cyber defense partnerships with NATO, partner nations, academia and industry. Its purpose is to improve force readiness for deployment in support of exercises, multinational crisis response and future missions.

December 2, 2011

Learning to respond to an aircraft emergency

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When U.S. F-16s are in the air over Italy, they often fly far from any ground support should they need to land. A1C Roman Weber tells us how Aviano fire safety officials are making sure pilots and aircraft are safe if they have to make an emergency landing away from home.

November 30, 2011

Simulating the next KFOR mission

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For over a decade, NATO forces deploying to the Balkans, in support of the Kosovo mission, have trained at the Joint Multinational Training Readiness Center. And as the mission changes, so does the training. Christian Marquart explains.

November 30, 2011

Integrating with the Air Force brothers

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JTACS, otherwise known at Joint Terminal Attack Controllers, are responsible for bringing in close air support to troops who need it. A1C Brian Gratz shows how some Soldiers and Airmen team up to keep ground troops safe.

November 28, 2011

Cooperation between partner nations

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Training with other nations for war means working out the logistics between countries as well. Sharpening these logistical skills between partner nations is tricky business. SSgt John Archiquette takes us to Kiev, Ukraine, where logistics officers are taking this training to the next level.

November 28, 2011

U.S. & Sweden Join Forces

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Training exercises that require cooperation with service members from other countries can come with language and cultural barriers. SrA Amanda Wowk reports from the United Kingdom where U.S. and Swedish troops are teaming up to stay ready for whatever comes their way.

November 22, 2011

Kaiserslautern International Night

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Service members abroad don’t just live in their community, they eventually become a part of it. A1C Shane Mitchell explains why this is so true through a celebration of diversity in Kaiserslautern, Germany.

November 14, 2011

Paying tribute to the Italian armed forces

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On November 4th, 1918, Austrian and Hungarian forces agreed to a cease-fire with Italy, thus ending WWI on the Italian front. Petty Officer David Charleston has more on a day that has been set aside to celebrate Italian forces, past and present.

February 1, 2012

European cold snap death toll rises to 71

(AP) — The death toll from a severe cold spell in Eastern Europe rose to 71 Wednesday, most of them homeless people.

February 1, 2012

4 UK men admit London Stock Exchange bomb plot

(AP) — Four British men pleaded guilty on Wednesday to involvement in an al-Qaida inspired plot to bomb the London Stock Exchange.

February 1, 2012

UN nuke official: New trip to Iran planned

(AP) — A U.N. nuclear team on Wednesday announced plans to revisit Tehran "in the very near future," indicating some progress on its quest to wrest information from Iran about allegations that it is secretly working on an atomic arms program.

January 30, 2012

Winter cold snap kills 32 in eastern Europe

(AP) — Heavy snow and a severe cold snap killed at least 32 people across eastern Europe and many areas were under emergency measures Monday as schools closed down, roads became impassible and power supplies were cut off.

January 30, 2012

Israel, Palestinians exchange blame over talks

(AP) The Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Sunday blamed each other for the impasse in newly launched peace efforts, raising doubts about whether the dialogue would continue just weeks after it began.

January 30, 2012

Moscow motorists stage rolling demonstration against Putin

(ANI) Thousands of cars participated in a large protest on Sunday against Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

January 25, 2012

US ambassador parries Russian attacks

(AFP) -- The new US ambassador to Moscow parried attacks on him in an interview Wednesday, saying a meeting with opposition members that provoked a furious reaction in Russia was simply part of his job.

January 25, 2012

Russia, U.S. To Dispose Of 34 Tons Of Weapon-Grade Plutonium

(RIA Novosti) -- The United States and Russia are successfully implementing their nuclear disarmament agreements and are continuing to work on the next steps in this direction, a U.S. Department of State official said on Tuesday.

January 25, 2012

UN-backed Cyprus reunification talks enter second day in New York

(Xinhua via COMTEX) -- The UN-backed Cyprus reunification talks on Tuesday entered its second day in New York, with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon meeting again with leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities in their latest round of talks aimed at reunifying the divided Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus.

January 25, 2012

EU, Arabs want a UN vote on Syria crackdown

(AFP) -- European and Arab nations want a U.N. Security Council vote next week on a resolution condemning Syria's crackdown on protests and hinting at sanctions, diplomats said Tuesday.

January 25, 2012

NATO not mulling intervention in Iran, Syria: top commander

(AFP) -- NATO is not considering any involvement in Syria or Iran, the alliance's top commander in Europe said on Tuesday, after Russian claims that such plans were afoot.

January 25, 2012

Russia outlines defence spending

(IANS) -- The Russian military will sign about 2,000 contracts for defence purchases in 2012, the defence ministry said Tuesday.

January 24, 2012

Turkey slams France over Armenian 'genocide' bill

(AP) — Turkey warned the French president on Tuesday against signing a law that makes it a crime to deny that the killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks nearly a century ago constituted genocide, saying such a move would deal a heavy blow to the relations between the two countries.

January 24, 2012

UK could send military assets to Strait of Hormuz

(AP) — Britain could send extra military assets to the Strait of Hormuz to deter any attempt by Iran to block Persian Gulf oil tanker traffic, the country's defense secretary said Tuesday, as Tehran accused the European Union of trying to create tension with a ban on the purchase of its oil.

January 20, 2012

NATO's Rasmussen says relations with Russia improving

(Itar-Tass) — NATO’s Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who is making a tour of three former Soviet Baltic republics – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, on Thursday pointed out an improvement of relations between the North-Atlantic pact and Russia.

January 20, 2012

U.S. Denies Link to Mars Mission Failure

(RIA Novosti) -- A spokesperson at the Department of State denied information that the crash of the Phobos-Grunt probe to the Martian moon Phobos could have been caused by a powerful electromagnetic emission from a U.S. radar.

January 19, 2012

NATO Says Russian Missile Plan on Baltic Sea Is ‘Waste of Money’

(Bloomberg) -- North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Russian proposals to bolster military forces in its Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad would be “a waste of money.”

January 19, 2012

'Hezbollah has long-range surface-to-air missiles'

(Jerusalem Post) -- The IDF has changed its operational assessment regarding the threat from Lebanon and is currently working under the assumption that Hezbollah has obtained sophisticated long-range surface-to-air missile systems from Syria, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

January 19, 2012

Abbas to discuss in Moscow ways of resuming Palestine-Israel talks

(Itar-Tass) — The head of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), Mahmoud Abbas, is arriving in Moscow on Thursday at the invitation of the Russian president to discuss the resumption of direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. On January 20, Abbas will be received by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The signing of several agreements is planned.

January 19, 2012

Iran: Talks with P5+1 may be in Turkey

(Trend) -- Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi says upcoming negotiation between Tehran and the six world powers will "most probably" be held in Turkey, Press TV reported.

January 19, 2012

NATO missile defence not aimed against Iran, Turkey says

(Trend) -- The missile defence shield that NATO is developing under strong encouragement from the United States is not aimed against Iran, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu insisted on Wednesday, dpa reported.

January 19, 2012

US top officer goes to Israel amid Iran fears

(AP) -- The U.S. military's top officer headed to Israel on Thursday at a time of mounting international anxiety over Iran's nuclear intentions and the possibility that the Jewish state might take military action to keep Tehran from building bombs.

January 18, 2012

Russian, U.S. paratroopers to drill together

(Voice of Russia) -- Russian and U.S. paratroopers will rehearse anti-terror efforts during planned joint exercises in 2012, Commander of the Russian Airborne Assault Forces Vladimir Shamanov announced on Thursday.

January 18, 2012

Defense Ministry to Invest $158M in Drones

(Moscow Times) -- The Defense Ministry has invested about 5 billion rubles ($158 million) with state-owned holding Russian Helicopters to develop three types of pilotless aircraft, unnamed sources told Gazeta.ru on Tuesday.

January 18, 2012

‘PKK using Israeli drones to attack Turkish troops'

Kurdish militants have access to intel gained from UAVs to set up bases in northern Syria, Turkish daily reports.

January 17, 2012

Part of NATO missile defense system goes live in Turkey

(CNN) -- An early warning radar station that is part of NATO's controversial missile defense system in Europe is now operational in Turkey, a foreign ministry spokesman said Monday.

January 17, 2012

Israel requests delay in US-Israel missile defense exercise

(Yahoo news) -- A major U.S.-Israeli missile defense exercise that had been planned to take place in the spring has been postponed due to a request by the Israeli Defense Ministry, American and Israeli officials told Yahoo News Sunday.

January 17, 2012

IDF preparing for major Gaza action within months

(Jerusalem Post) -- Concern growing over anti-tank missile smuggling into Strip; senior officer says Hamas, Islamic Jihad have increased weaponry.