Blog Posts tagged with "Europe"

Ah, the Munich Security Conference.

Certainly the most prestigious of all the global security conferences, with routine appearances by heads of government, Defense and other ministers of state, brilliant academics, journalists and even a few Admirals and Generals.

This year's event over the past three days featured four key elements to my eye.

The first was a rare "dual appearance" by the US Secretary of Defense and Secretary of State, Leon Panetta and Hilary Clinton. They spoke in sequence to the audience, and their remarks were streamed live as well.

The theme both of them hit hard was the enduring importance of the European partnership to the United States.

Secretary Clinton said, "Europe is the partner of first-resort of the United States," and echoed President Obama's quote that "Europe remains the cornerstone of US engagement in the world." Secretary Panetta lauded European participation around the world with the US, notably through the NATO alliance. As he pointed out, there are nearly 40,000 European troops in Afghanistan alongside 88,000 Americans -- and their proportional casualty rates are as high overall.

The Munich Security Conference.

Certainly there are questions in the minds of Europeans as the new US defense strategy articulates an emphasis on the Pacific and Middle East.

My view is that while the US sees strategic challenge in the Pacific and Middle East, we see enduring strategic partnership in Europe; and strategic opportunity globally, to include Latin America and Africa.

The US is a global power and will continue to work broadly in the world, alongside our best "pool of partners" -- Europeans.

A second key theme that emerged was concern over events in Syria.

Several commentators, including Senator John McCain and the Nobel Laureate Tawakkul Karman, commented on the need for the international community and especially the UN security council to condemn the violence of the Assad regime. Senator McCain and Secretary of State Clinton both spoke in particular on the need for Russia and China to cease their vetoes of appropriate resolutions.

A third dialog that caught my attention was on cyber. I feel as though in the world of cyber, we have the greatest gap between the level of threat and the degree of preparation -- we have a long way to go. I'm working with the NATO Center of Excellence for cyber security and thinking through how we might be more operational, a la the new US CYBERCOM.

Fourth and finally, there seemed to be clarity on the overall timeline in Afghanistan.The NATO alliance and the ISAF coalition of 50 nations all concur that we are on track with our transition to Afghan led security operations, and we intend to hand over security responsibility for the entire country by the end of 2014. We have already moved to place 50% of the nation's population under Afghan security responsibility. This will allow us to continue the process of turning over to our Afghan partners, recognizing that there will be combat operations throughout this period -- albeit with an increasing role for support to Afghans.

There is also a nascent discussion about what the ISAF and NATO presence will be post-2014. It will clearly include ongoing cooperation in the security sector, as evidenced by pledges at the 100-nation / international organization Bonn conference last fall -- stay tuned for the May Chicago NATO/ISAF summit.

All in all, a good conference that lived up to its billing as a top-flight gathering of those concerned about 21st century security.

Best,
Jim

Admiral, USN
Supreme Allied Commander, Europe
Commander, US European Command
"Stronger Together"
 

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Last night I was honored to receive the Distinguished Military Leadership Award from the Atlantic Council. Here are the remarks I made (or at least what I spoke from) during the dinner. ~ADM Stavridis

Thank you very much, Jim [Jones], for that extremely generous introduction. You could say between SACEUR 14 and SACEUR 16, you have the “long and the short” of it. Indeed, some would say the procession from Jim Jones, a towering figure, to my -- shall we say more compact -- frame, might indicate a diminishing of the Alliance, but I will try my best to look taller tonight.

Mr. Vice President, fellow honorees, distinguished guests, friends and colleagues, members and supporters of the Atlantic Council, all of you—good evening!

Let me particularly thank Fred Kempe, Senator Chuck Hagel, and the entire team at the Atlantic Council. So many close friends are here tonight, and I thank you all for coming.

By the looks of the agenda, I also think the Atlantic Council has a wonderful program in store for everyone tonight. You know, living in Europe affords the chance to see and learn about new and different cultures—which by the way is one of the most important things we can do to help create security in this turbulent 21st century.

As one example, I was recently fortunate enough to attend the opera Don Carlo, and I was really moved by the experience. So moved in fact, that I began secretly taking operatic singing lessons. I mentioned this new-found hobby to Plácido Domingo during the reception (he received the Distinguished Artistic Leadership Award last night), and boy are you all in for a real treat -- because he has asked me to accompany him on stage and sing an aria … “La Donna et Mobile” …I know it will be a performance you will remember for years … (I was planning to get a few laughs here.)

Seriously, I’m proud to accept this award on behalf of the seven million active and reserve Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines who make up the military arm of this grand alliance. Today more than 150,000 of them are engaged in what the British would call “active service” on three continents – in Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq, the Balkans, and off the coast of Africa on piracy patrol, in Iraq.

They are also deeply engaged in the collective defense of the alliance, training and exercising together throughout Europe and North America. Their efforts create partnerships with nations all around the Mediterranean and in the Arabian Gulf, as well as with more than twenty Asian nations as part of the Partnership for Peace program, begun under the visionary leadership of General Jones.

Looking to the future, the men and women of the alliance are today exploring our role in cyber and missile defense. We are engaged in bringing on line new technologies ranging from unmanned aircraft to advanced command and control networks. And we are seeking to build a true strategic partnership with Russia, as called for in the strategic concept accepted last fall for the 28 nations of the alliance.

NATO is a vibrant alliance, with nearly half of the world’s gross domestic product to draw upon and more importantly a deep dedication to democracy, liberty, freedom of expression, and all the values that make life worth living. It remains part of the core strategic architecture of the United States, and I would argue is among the most successful alliances in world history.

I recently visited Trapani Air Base in western Sicily where a large contingent of multi-national air forces are operating in support of Libyan operations. As always, the closer to the fight, the better things tend to look. And they looked good in Trapani. Side-by-side, Italians, Canadians, Brits, Americans, and indeed representatives from each nation in the alliance proudly lead the air effort which is enforcing UN security council resolutions.

They reflect a major air-sea campaign in progress. Since NATO took over the Libyan mission, just over a month ago, we have launched well over 5,000 total aircraft sorties. More than 2,000 of them have been strike and suppression of air defenses. While the US provides about 25% of the support sorties (intelligence, refueling, surveillance, reconnaissance, suppression of enemy air defense), the rest of the coalition provides the remaining 75%.

We have hailed and boarded hundreds of ships at sea as well. Of the 15 ships enforcing the embargo, only 1 or 2 are from the US. The entire 28-nation NATO alliance, plus so far 6 additional nations (Sweden, Ukraine, and four Arab countries) are supporting the effort in some capacity.

Our work, I believe, has saved the lives of tens of thousands of innocent citizens terrorized and threatened by the authoritarian regime condemned by the international community. We continue to enforce an arms embargo, conduct a no-fly zone, and attack the forces of the regime that threaten the civilian population. This will give the international community the time to bring economic, political, and diplomatic tools to bear and resolve the ongoing crisis.

In this very real sense, NATO and its coalition partners are showing once how adaptive and enduring its fundamental principles and capabilities are important to the future of our collective security. And Libya is only the latest mission, adding to the work done in the Balkans, Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere. I also point with pride to the humanitarian work the Alliance has done in Pakistan in response to both floods and earthquakes over the past few years.

I believe this all reflects a NATO alliance that is a force for good in the world. We are far from perfect, but our collective efforts help create security and bring some measure of stability in a dangerous world. In the sixty years since NATO was formed, I think we have contributed and will continue to do so in important ways.

You know, I have a very exalted title … “Supreme Allied Command.” What I REALLY am is the Operations Officer for the Alliance. So let me close with a final operational thought.

I accept this award with great thanks not for myself, but on behalf of the operators … the men and women who sail at sea … fly long missions in the air … and patrol dusty streets and over high mountains ashore ... all on dangerous operational service. They stand the watch tonight so that we may be safe and secure in our homes, and this is THEIR award, not mine.

Think of them as you celebrate this night, and continue to support them in their important work.

We held a good event at my HQ late last week – a birthday party. We celebrated the first sixty years of this NATO strategic operational command.

Along with two of the youngest members of the command, I cut a birthday cake to celebrate the moment sixty years ago, on 2 April 1951, when SACEUR Dwight D. Eisenhower activated Allied Command Europe – the predecessor to today’s Allied Command Operations – and its headquarters, the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe.

North Atlantic Council Meeting Dec. 1957

The history is pretty striking, I think. Since the signing of the Washington Treaty, we’ve seen the Alliance grow from the original 12 member countries to the 28 current ones, plus a large number of other nations linked to NATO, such as the 22 member Nations of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, the 7 member Nations of the Mediterranean Dialogue, 4 members of the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative, and 4 contact countries. Nearly a billion people fall into either membership or partnership status. The 28 members control nearly 50% of the world’s Gross Domestic Product, totally some $28 trillion dollars.

The bottom line is pretty simple: NATO has been a true success. Today we are operating on three continents with 140,000 soldiers, sailors, and airmen conducting important operations from Afghanistan to Libya to the Balkans.

Opening of the Meeting by NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Jan. 26, 2011

Central to the success of NATO has been our ability to adapt to evolving geopolitical realities. At NATO's inception, we were challenged by the evolving tactics and strategies of the Soviet Union; at the close of the 20th Century, we saw the demands of a multi-polar world start to emerge; and today, we are adjusting to new challenges from an increasingly interdependent, connected and fast paced world.

Nearly four generations of Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and civilians have served the Alliance. From the most junior Private to senior Generals and Ambassadors, their work has defined this Alliance. It is strong and has endured because of their efforts. Truly, all of us serving the Alliance today “stand on the shoulders of giants.”

Naturally, there is a great deal we can do better. We’re working hard on the comprehensive approach – trying to integrate our security efforts with diplomacy and development. Missile Defense and Cyber are areas where we have much work to do. Our crisis management systems can improve. And finally, I think we can stretch our arms wider in the world of partnerships – for example, in finding more zones of cooperation with Russia.

As we look to the future, we dedicate ourselves to continuing to serve the causes of maintaining peace, co-operating with other nations and organisations, and preserving security and stability wherever we can be helpful.

Here's to the next 60 years!

Adm. James Stavridis
Commander, U.S. European Command and
Supreme Allied Commander, Europe

Mike Anderson Deputy Director J9 - Interagency Partnering Directorate

I work in Stuttgart, Germany not far north from the source of Europe's second longest (about 1800 miles long) and one of its most important commercial rivers, the Danube.  I have often had business meetings on behalf of US European Command (EUCOM) along this river as it flows south and east from the vicinity of Stuttgart past cities such as Ulm, Vienna, Belgrade, before emptying into the Black Sea near Constanta, Romania.  I'd like to tell you of one occasion when I visited the Danube city of Budapest to better appreciate a law enforcement academy that is based there.

I visited the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA), located on the Buda side of the Danube. I did so to better comprehend the current curriculum at ILEA and to discuss possible future collaborative training engagements.  This was part of our ongoing J9 outreach efforts to meet with and understand the actions of other federal agencies, Departments, and organizations also operating in Europe and Eurasia.

Recently our Public-Private Cooperation coordinator and the J9-hosted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Department of Treasury representatives conducted a follow-up visit to ILEA.  The ILEA Director, Penny Hoback (FBI Supervisory Special Agent) hosted.   ILEA is an example of law enforcement interagency cooperation in action. ILEA Budapest (there are other ILEAs in Asia, South America and Africa) is staffed with two American accredited diplomats. The deputy director is a Diplomatic Security Service (US Dept of State) special agent and Dept of State funds most of the training there. The remainder of the staff consists of Hungarian ministry employees and sworn police officers.  They leverage a lot of visiting instructors from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), the Secret Service, as well as Interpol and UK, German and Swedish law enforcement officials.

Ms Holback and our visiting EUCOM-hosted interagency partners were enthusiastic about the potential for greater law enforcement collaboration. This is encouraging because this is a classic "building partner capacity" institution.  ILEA, EUCOM, and our hosted law enforcement interagency partners all focus on enhancing the partner capacities and capabilities of eastern European and Eurasian states.

The ILEA was founded in 1995 when the US and Hungarian governments cooperated to create a center to do law enforcement training.  The Academy offers training classes for up to 130 law enforcement officers at a time and its courses touch on a number of topics also of interest to EUCOM; combating transnational terrorism, money laundering, and trafficking.  Since its inception it has trained more than 12,000 law enforcement officials, among them Russian FSB agents, customs and border guards.

Just as the Danube flows thru 19 European countries, making it Europe's most "international river" and compelling upstream and downstream nations to cooperate, so too does today's threat and resource-constrained environment require greater interagency cooperation among defense, diplomatic and law enforcement agencies, like between "upstream" EUCOM and "downstream" ILEA.

I would be interested in hearing your examples of ongoing military-law enforcement collaboration here in Europe and your opinions of the value of doing such.

Hila Hanif, U.S. European Command Special Assistant for Muslim Outreach

I recently reached my halfway point working as the U.S. European Command Special Assistant for Muslim Outreach. As an Office of the Secretary of Defense Presidential Management Fellow, I’m here on a 6-month rotation to help the commands identify and develop a strategy for outreach and engagement with the Muslim world. I spent a fair bit of time thinking about this back in D.C. before heading to Europe. In my first week I asked command leadership what the main goals were in addressing Muslim Affairs. To help them out, I provided three goals that I thought were appropriate:

A) Understand Muslim perceptions of U.S. operations in Muslim lands and address misperceptions.
B) Improve our own understanding of operations in Muslim lands.
C) Garner support from and partnership with Muslim nations  for operations in places like Afghanistan and Iraq.

The answer I got was “all of the above, and please add a few more to the list.”

I continued with my research and met with different directorates at EUCOM, all of whom added different perspectives that I had never thought of as to why it is important for EUCOM to focus on Muslim affairs. From Switzerland to Belgium to France to Germany, I have seen different estimates of the Muslim populations of those countries and none have exceeded 5-10%, yet political and security issues related to the Muslim communities within EUCOM’s area of focus receive a lot of attention in these countries.

Since 9/11 there has been much dialogue about curbing violent extremism originating from Muslim communities, but the current U.S. Government administration has been taking a new approach to engaging with the Muslim world: There is a recognition that the majority of Muslims are not represented by the violent extremists that so easily gain media attention, and that it is important to engage with the Muslim world in areas that are of mutual interest. This includes working together to curb violent extremism, but goes further to forge partnerships in other areas such as health and business. Ninety-eight percent of al-Qa‘ida’s victims between 2006 and 2008 were from Muslim majority countries, and communication and outreach to these communities should recognize the fact that we share very similar security concerns. Included in these mutual concerns is a desire to see stability in places like Afghanistan.

The “Muslim World” is not a monolith with one distinct set of ideals and concerns, but the truth is that many Muslim communities around the world pay close attention to the struggles of Muslim communities elsewhere. As we find ourselves engaged militarily in Muslim nations, or simply addressing security concerns of Muslim populations elsewhere, it is important to communicate and interact with these communities. Just looking at the U.S.’s number one military priority, Afghanistan, the partnership we have with certain Muslim countries has really added value to our traditional alliances. Notably, when dealing with population-centric warfare, where interaction with and cultural understanding of the local population matters, Allies such as the Turks often bring a comparative cultural advantage.

As we continue to develop EUCOM’s Muslim outreach priorities, I would like to solicit ideas from our online followers on creative ways to engage with our Muslim friends and neighbors to ensure the strategy we develop is effective, efficient and executable. If there are opportunities we should be aware of or other organizations we should be partnering with, please share your ideas with us!

Hila Hanif
U.S. European Command Special Assistant for Muslim Outreach
Fellow, Office of the Secretary of Defense Presidential Management

Pretty surprising that a Supreme Allied Commander Europe – standing as I do in the footsteps of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, just 65 years after the end of WWII and after 60 years of the founding of the Alliance – would feel need to blog about “Why NATO Matters to the USA.”

But let me offer a quote:  “The Alliance today faces a more complex set of challenges than perhaps at any time in its history.  The reasons for nations' reluctance to carry out agreed defense commitments go beyond the current economic slowdown in the West, although that is the proximate cause. In the debates over security policy throughout the Alliance there is evidence of deeper public concerns over basic Alliance purposes and over the viability of Alliance efforts to achieve them.”

Think you read this recently?  Sounds a lot like recent opinion pieces about the growing “irrelevancy” of NATO in particular and Europe in general?  Yes, but that piece was written back in 1982, by one of my predecessors, General Bernie Rogers.

Yet since that moment of doubt and complexity, NATO has continued its positive and important contribution to European, North American and, more recently, to global security.

Today, NATO employs over 130,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines on three continents in a wide variety of vital missions:  the Balkans, counter-piracy, counter-terrorism, and training missions in both Iraq and Afghanistan.  We also perform traditional defense of the Alliance missions, ranging from patrolling the skies over NATO’s Baltic allies to complex multi-national exercises with our 28 member states and 33 partners in the Partnership for Peace, the Mediterranean Dialogue, and the Istanbul Cooperative Initiative.

Let me give four reasons NATO will continue to matter for the United States in the early turbulence of the 21^st century:

First, before we decide we don’t think NATO matters, let’s do a little “comparative shopping.”  Practically speaking, NATO has the best pool of partners we will have in the world for the foreseeable future.  Look at the other Cold War Alliances and what happened to them.  Remember CENTO?  How about SEATO?  The RIO Pact?  All have folded their tents and faded away.  Before we decide we can do without NATO, we should think about where our other partners will come from – the bench isn’t deep.  As one example, in Afghanistan today, 85% of our partner nations come from Europe, contributing over 40,000 troops and having tragically experienced over 600 of their finest young people killed in action, shoulder to shoulder with our own 1,000 painful losses, in an effort to support the young Afghan democracy and deny al-Qaeda platforms from which to launch attacks on our nations.  This is substantial by any measure.

Second, as Willie Sutton said, “Why rob banks?  Because that’s where the money is.”  If we are looking for capable military partners with real resources, the ability to deploy and operate with us, and well-trained troops, Europe provides the lion’s share in the world today.  With a collective GDP of over $15 trillion (larger than that of the US), and over two million men and women in uniform (almost all of whom are volunteers, as in the U.S.), this is where the “money is” in terms of real military capability and credibility.

Third, from a philosophical perspective, these are many of the nations who most fundamentally share our values.  Europe is the source of the enlightenment and the values of democracy and liberty that we cherish: individual and human rights, freedom of speech and religion, and rule of law.  While there are individual countries around the world which certainly share those values, there is no other region in the world which so highly shares and is prepared to act to defend our fundamental values.

Fourth, the demographic ties that connect us are the strongest with Europe.  Today nearly 70% of the US population traces its heritage and roots to Europe.  This lineage creates bonds that are linguistic, cultural, historical, and economic.  Granted, the economics of Asia and the Pacific Rim are compelling over time, as are the rising democracies of Latin America.  Yet for the foreseeable future, the linkages with Europe remain the strongest overall set of connections that we have in the world.

So before we decide NATO isn’t so important to Americans, I’d suggest we take a clear-eyed look at the other options, the tendency to partner with us, the basic military skills, the level of resources, and the values that bind.  NATO specifically and Europe in general still, even after 60+ years of alliance, look to me like pretty good partners.

Admiral James Stavridis
Commander, U.S. European Command and
Supreme Allied Commander Europe

I’m finally back home after nearly two weeks on the road and it has been more than a week now since I jumped into Iron Mike Drop Zone in Normandy, France to commemorate the 66^th Anniversary of D-Day.  I’ll never forget the experience –  not just because of the historic significance, but also because of those that jumped with me that day.  As you probably well know, British, Canadian and American forces jumped to secure the Allied flanks on D-Day, but personnel from Australia, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, France, Greece, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Poland also took part in the landings.  On D-Day 66, I hit the ground, collected my parachute, and then walked off the drop zone with British, French, Polish, Dutch, German and fellow Americans paratroopers surrounding me.  On my aircraft alone, we had Dutch, German and Polish paratroopers and I earned both the Dutch and Polish jump wings that day.  
  

German and Polish paratroopers sit amongst SOCEUR Soldiers on the aircraft prior to jumping onto Iron Mike DZ in Normandy, France, June 5, 2010.

Whoa!  Come again you say?  Tucked in that list was…German paratroopers?  Yep, they jumped with us!  It goes to show how far we’ve come that we can jump with those who 66 years ago would have been shooting at us as we descended from the sky.  Why were they there?  Well, one of their special operations officers explains it best here during an interview with LCDR Taylor Clark of the EUCOM Public Affairs Office.

Immediately upon my return from the D-Day anniversary, I headed straight to Krakow, Poland to prepare for the upcoming Jackal Stone 2010 exercise. Jackal Stone is a multi-nation partnership building exercise designed to build Special Operations Forces’ capacity.  While there, I really was able to appreciate the significance of the camaraderie built during events such as the D-Day anniversary jump as I met up with one of the Polish jumpers I had exchanged wings with in Normandy. 

British, French, Polish, Dutch, German and American paratroopers float to the ground during the 66th D-Day Anniversary jump onto Iron Mike DZ, June 5, 2010.

As we worked at Polish Special Operations Command Headquarters with special operations leaders from Poland, Croatia, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania, and the Ukraine, we talked about jump-day memories and the relationships we built in Normandy.  It transcended beyond just the U.S.-Polish bonds and was a precursor to the relationships we will strengthen when we all gather in Poland and Lithuania this upcoming September.

It all goes back to why we (U.S. forces) are here in Europe – so that we can cooperate better with our partners and allies.  I wrote about it previously here, but it is so cool to see it in action.  Common experiences bind us together like nothing else, and in times of crisis, it is these common experiences that will pay immeasurable dividends.  

MAJ Jim Gregory
SOCEUR PAO

Maj. Kristi Beckman is the Chief of Social Media for European Command Public Affairs

As social networking or social media becomes commonplace and the youngest to the oldest are chatting on Facebook, Linked In, Twitter and YouTube; one wonders what the next big thing will be.

So far, social media has allowed us to communicate through a two-way fashion not only to our friends and family but to businesses as well. If a day goes by and CNN doesn’t mention Twitter or Facebook, I haven’t seen it!

These are incredible tools to reach people and get unabashed opinions. If your business hasn’t jumped on board the social media train by now, do it quick! I can go to any of my favorite companies and put my two-sense in which is a fantastic tool for businesses to gather feedback and do what is called “crowd-sourcing.” If you’re interested, check out my boss’ blog on this. We are looking into this here as a great tool to aid us in the future.

We’re very active in social media here at European Command not only because we understand the importance and reap the benefits but also because our commander gets it. Admiral Stavridis maintains his own Facebook page, blog, and Twitter accounts. He is out there in the cyber realm communicating. As a matter of fact, on Twitter yesterday I had to laugh because one of the Admiral’s followers tweeted him, “Please tell me you have a business card that says, ‘Supreme Allied Commander Europe!’” Too funny!

And now that the Department of Defense has said to open the social networking services on government computers, we are going to start doing so much more that involves not just the public affairs office and the senior leaders, but the troops as well.

We want to bring in blogs from troops throughout our partner nation countries who are working alongside the Latvians, Moldovians, Macedonians, etc. Did you read about the U.S. troops marching in Red Square alongside the Russians? Talk about Stronger Together. Those were incredible images and stories and I’m just sorry I couldn’t be there personally.

So, what’s next? Where do you think the social networking arena will take us? We’re always striving to stay up to date with the latest in the social media realm, so help us out! It’s a social thing!

We’re scrambling at the moment to figure out a way back to Europe, as an enormous cloud of volcanic ash has closed many of the airports in the region. It makes me realize, again, how valuable time is for all of us. In the end, it is the most important resource we have.

Someone asked me the other day at a meeting, “Admiral, you travel so much and do a lot of writing in addition to all the other things you have going on. How do you manage your time?” A pretty good question and it is actually something I’ve given a great deal of thought to over the years.

First of all, I’ve always tried hard to manage my time carefully, and to use small bits of time to chip away at important things. If you wait until you have six hours to sit down and write an article, the odds are that you’ll never find the time. But if you write a page or a paragraph here and there – while on an airplane or in a car ride – eventually you’ll have a good piece. Do that in an organized way over a year, and you’ll have a book. What seems like a big commitment in time is so often just a series of small steps.

Second, I try to budget my time in big strokes. I learned this from former Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Vern Clark, who is a disciplined and focused manager as well as a strong leader. He always talked about dividing your time into the three big things you do – in my case, I’ve generally broken it down into five:

• People. No surprise this is at the top of the list, and I think it is the most important thing I do every day. It spans the gamut from counseling and guiding my team, to recruiting new talented people, to focusing on quality of life issues. I get a lot of help, of course, from my personnel experts and my Senior Enlisted Leaders, but in the end, I’d put this at the top of any leader’s time budget. For me, I try to invest about 25 percent of the time on my people.


• Learning. One of the key skills any leader must have is the ability to constantly learn. Like most people running big organizations, I take in enormous amounts of information and try hard to absorb the important details as well as understand the strategic “big picture” that confronts my two commands. I think it is important as well to invest in learning languages, so I typically spend an hour each day studying a language –Spanish, French, and Portuguese are my focus at the moment. This also includes time to read, both non-fiction and fiction books – in other words to get up above the day-to-day intelligence and staff reports, as important as they are. I try to get through about 50 novels and 50 non-fiction books each year, roughly two books per week. Lots of time on airplanes helps out! This is an area that absorbs about 25 percent of my time.


• Messaging. A big part of what I do is strategic communication. In this, I include the roughly 100 speeches and presentations I do each year, from think tanks to town halls, from testifying in front of Congress to briefing the North Atlantic Council. I also try to write about five articles each year for publication, focusing on a wide variety of journals and media outlets. My work on social networking sites, this blog, and other forms of outreach and communication come into this segment of my time budget, which is about 25 percent.


• Operations. My job as SACEUR is essentially the Operations Officer for NATO; and of course in my U.S. European Command hat we are constantly conducting operations around the region. It therefore stands to reason that I’d spend a fair amount of time in this area. This really consists of briefings, meetings, and actually engagement in the conduct of operations. While this varies from time-to-time, it normally takes up about 15 percent of my time.


• Innovation. I try very hard to block out time to work on innovative ideas. This includes spending time just thinking and writing about new ways of doing things, from how we process information to creating new centers for everything from counter-narcotics to disposal of dangerous ordnance. In the end, if I am enslaved by the process of the day-to-day – as important as it is – I think I’m missing the chance to move my enterprise in a dramatic way forward. This uses up the final 10 percent of the disposal time.

Obviously, what I don’t include in the time above is my family, friends, and work-outs – I’m talking about budgeting the *disposable* time available. In everything, balance is key, and anyone who knows me is aware I find time for leave, family time and physical fitness; perhaps not as much as I would always like, but in general I think I am “in balance” on that side of the ledger.

The final point I would make about time management is simple but often overlooked: I measure how I’m doing on my time budget. In other words, every month or so, I’ll review the schedule with the team and we’ll try to ensure that we’re hitting the gates above. Some months we’ll miss the target because a big operation will eat up an inordinate amount of time; other months we’ll pretty much be on target. But the key is that by measuring how we’re doing, I’m able to maintain some accountability to myself for the really big ticket items (like innovation) that can easily be swept away.

So as we’re held up in Washington at the moment awaiting the skies over Europe to clear, I have a little extra time on my hands – time for some messaging, i.e. writing this post to my blog!

Admiral James Stavridis
Commander, U.S. European Command and
Supreme Allied Commander Europe

EUCOM’s Commander, Admiral Stavridis, often points to the importance that he attaches to “partnering,” both military and interagency partnering. In his recent Capitol Hill testimony he said that interagency partnering is “more than a tool or a method, 'interagency partnering' is an expanding paradigm at EUCOM and we are intent on serving as a model of interagency cooperation."

From an interagency partnering perspective it seems appropriate to query, “Partner with whom next?” Or using baseball vernacular, “who’s the next batter?” EUCOM’s J9-Interagency Partnering Directorate (yes, “partnering” is our middle name!) presently hosts partner agency representatives from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Department of State, the Department of the Treasury, and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agency.

This is an impressive assembly of America’s “hard power” in the EUCOM “dugout;” Treasury’s active pursuit of terrorist money laundering trails in Europe and Eurasia and ICE’s law enforcement prowess flexed to identify criminals or terrorists before reaching U.S. shores. But America’s “soft power” is also well represented in J9; the diplomacy (State) and development (USAID) strengths of U.S. foreign policy are also part of the EUCOM “line-up.”

By October 2010, this esteemed team will also be joined by other interagency representatives from: Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Department of Energy (DOE), and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). Should J9 and EUCOM then be content? Is that all the expanded interagency “partnering” that Admiral Stavridis had in mind when he testified before the U.S. Congress? I think not. EUCOM, a military geographic command, is engaged in a daring experiment to serve as a “platform” to host a variety of civilian instruments of U.S. national power in the common, efficacious pursuit of U.S. foreign policy goals in Europe and Eurasia.

With baseball spring training in full swing, let me borrow another sandlot metaphor; with the interagency batting line-up that EUCOM will field come the time of this year’s fall classic, it will be a strong, switch-hitting one, it can still be strengthened.

Certainly, EUCOM will boast interagency ‘hard power’ as seen in our cooperation with such law enforcement agencies such as ICE, CBP, DEA, and Treasury. It will have that power meshed with ‘soft power’ players epitomized by DOS and USAID and will even host a “designated hitter” in the Department of Energy, helping EUCOM address a specific, nascent energy security issue.

But as we look towards “next season” we may wish to consider other “players;” possibly another “hard power” slugger in the form of the Department of State’s Counter Terrorism (S/CT) office, or recruiting America’s premier paramilitary organization (‘able to go his left or his right’, switching between military or law enforcement roles), the U.S. Coast Guard, or perhaps the already “All Interagency” player, the Department of State’s Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization (S/CRS).

The crack of the bat for the 2010 season has still yet to be heard. For all teams, including the EUCOM team, hope still springs eternal. Who would you next have join team EUCOM and why? What other “interagency players” would you “draft” for your dream team? Who should we have in our “on deck circle?” I’d be interested in your thoughts….

Mike Anderson
Deputy Director, J9-Interagency Partnering Directorate
Stuttgart, Germany

As I told you in my last blog, I spent this past week on Capitol Hill. I testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) and the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction (HAC MILCON).

As you’d expect, our Congressional leadership asked insightful, important questions.

Sen. Joe Lieberman and myself having a discussion before the hearing. (Photo by David Hume Kennerly)

Throughout my three days on the Hill, I was asked to address a whole host of issues relevant to the European security environment and our NATO Alliance, including but not limited to our efforts in Afghanistan; the current environment in the Balkans; our relationship with Russia; missile defense; cyber security; U.S. force posture; and quality of life for US forces stationed in Europe.

I’ve addressed most of these issues in past blogs and will endeavor to touch on others in the months to come. As always and of no surprise to regular readers, I underscored with the Congress the importance of pursuing military objectives through international and interagency partnerships and a focus on strategic communication.

I encourage you to watch the hearings or read the statement prepared for the record, and to share with me any questions or reactions you may have.

Adm. Jim Stavridis
Commander, U.S. European Command and
Supreme Allied Commander Europe

Day one of the quality of life conference went pretty much how I thought it would. An array of issues and excellent observations from large instillations to small were discussed. I was impressed with everyone’s issues and participation; it made the day fly by.

Participation was maximized and real issues were brought to light and narrowed down by what the group (Community Service I) felt was most relevant across the European enterprise. Family issues and support were high on the group’s priority list as was the health of the troops to my pleasure.

Our upbeat and genuinely motivated facilitator kept the group interested and moving forward. An excellent job was done helping us portray or intent on each issue. Already you could feel a sense of accomplishment within the group as our top 10 issues were finalized.
I’m looking forward for tomorrow when we receive our top 2 issues to focus on. It’s a rewarding feeling to know we are making a difference; the only regret is that we are unable to focus on each issue brought up.

Marine Gunnery Sergeant Jamie Glickman
Marine Forces Europe/Africa

I’m on Capitol Hill next week to update Congress on the successes and challenges of U.S. European Command and the security environment in Europe. As you’d expect, this is a BIG deal for us, and we’ve been preparing for months.

Although I am called to testify as a U.S. military officer, we will of course touch upon the Alliance and my role as Supreme Allied Commander. I’ll be testifying along with my friends and colleagues GEN Jim Mattis of U.S. Joint Forces Command and GEN Kip Ward of U.S. Africa Command.

One of the big things I plan to emphasize is the importance of international and interagency partnering to address the security challenges we collectively face. Congress of course provides us with the resources and authorities through which we help build the capacity of our partners and allies. This is essential, as our partners and allies help us meet near-term requirements in Afghanistan, as well as the longer-term requirements for our theater security and the security of our homeland.

A couple of examples of “building partnership capacity” in action may be helpful to underscore the point in more tangible terms. (I deliberately use the word “partnership”– rather than “partner” – to emphasize the fact that we get so much out of these interactions). In Albania, for example, we have been able to conduct security sector reform assessments, an inter-agency effort critical to integrating Balkan countries in the European community.

Or another example: Our Marines are conducting pre-deployment training in the Republic of Georgia, which will result in Georgian forces deployed to Afghanistan. As capabilities improve, Georgian forces are expected to be able to operate independently and eventually stand up a training program to prepare future Georgian forces for deployment.

We’ll certainly talk about Afghanistan in some depth, given my responsibilities on the EUCOM side with preparing our forces for forward deployment; and on the NATO side as the strategic commander for NATO operations which of course include Afghanistan.

And we’ll no doubt cover a host of other topics, as well, ranging from support to U.S. service members and families in Europe to Russia to missile defense.

I always look forward to the chance to interact with Congress and answer their well researched and frequently challenging questions. I have many friends on the Hill, both on the staffs and among the members themselves and it is also enjoyable to catch up with them during the pre-hearing “calls” on the members.

I suspect the Pentagon Channel and/or C-SPAN will cover the hearings if you want to watch the testimony in “real time”. Alternatively, we’ll get it posted on our website afterwards so you can catch it.

I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes!

Adm. Jim Stavridis
Commander, U.S. European Command and
Supreme Allied Commander Europe

Army Master Sgt. Donald Sparks, Special Operations Command Europe Public Affairs.

One thing I have learned through my personal interactions with soldiers of other nations is that we all share universal similar traits, dislikes and jargon. We hate being in the field in cold weather, muddy, and other austere climate conditions.

While taking photos of Norwegian Army engineers during a pause in their maneuvers as part of the Cold Response 2010 exercise, I had a chance to exchange dialogue about things that only we troops discuss when we ‘close ranks’ among ourselves – away from our officer counterparts.

Obviously as I approached the crew of seven troopers, they knew I was American. Trying not to appear as a member of the paparazzi with two Nikon cameras draped around my neck, I figured if I was going to break the ice (no pun intended) I better say something funny. “So today’s a great day at the beach.”

I succeeded with my opening line as I drew a chorus of laughter. As they were preparing their field rations for a quick bite of chow, this is where I knew I could relate to their suffering.

“Who got stuck with the Royal Thai?” This concoction of a meal is the one field ration the Norwegians avoid like the plague – comparable to the old ham and cheese omelet American Soldiers dreaded to eat in a box of MREs (Meals Ready to Eat). I had them going now.

Norwegian engineer troops take a moment during a pause in their maneuvers to enjoy their field rations while participating in the Cold Response 2010 exercise.

During my first five days in Norway we (my fellow service members of U.S. Special Operations Command Europe) had to eat their field rations and my curiosity got the best of me as I tried the Royal Thai selection. It’s not that it’s horrible, even as I tried to enhance the fish and curry inside with Tabasco, it’s the aftermath that hurts you for hours upon end.

“If there are ten of us and there are only ten rations, if one of those is Royal Thai, it stays in the box,” said the grenadier (Norwegian rank for its enlisted troops), expressing his displeasure of the delicacy.

I asked another grenadier how many cups of coffee she consumed during their break in ‘the fight.’ She admitted to two cups (but was pouring her third), but another suggested that coffee alone wasn’t enough – he needed a couple of Red Bull energy drinks.

A Norwegian engineer troop take a moment during a pause in maneuvers to enjoy a hot cup of coffee while participating in the Cold Response 2010 exercise.

“Word, those got me through Iraq,” I said sharing a war story. “There is nothing like drinking two Red Bulls, listen to some Jay Z and you’re ready to get right back in the action.”

As a senior noncommissioned officer, it was natural for me to ask the troops about their morale and how were they holding up in the cold. I wanted to make sure they were checking each other for cold weather injuries.

Personally, now after experiencing Norway’s extreme freezing conditions, South Korea has been bumped to number two on my list of the coldest places I’ve been on Earth. And these troops are outside in the elements, training rigorously in temperatures as low as -35 degrees Celsius.

They griped. They complained. They… well; I can’t write what I’d normally say. But they also serve. They serve their nation just like my fellow American battle buddies despite the conditions on the ground and environment we find ourselves in. So I listened, took photos and politely honored their requests not to mention their names – something I experience frequently with the Special Operations Forces I normally write about.

“Once again, we hurry up to wait,” the team sergeant said. “But at least we get something hot to drink and eat, so it’s good for us.”
Now that is one phrase that I was shocked to hear, but in retrospect, I shouldn’t have. We (American troops) despise that feeling – hurry up to wait.

Moments later our informal session was over as they received word they’d be maneuvering to their next location. They thanked me for stopping by, we exchanged dap and hugs and we do what Soldiers do – we acknowledged each other as brothers in arms.

“Stay away from the Royal Thai my friend,” the grenadier I spoke with earlier said giving me a warning. “If we don’t eat it, neither should you.”

Army Master Sgt. Donald Sparks
Special Operations Command Europe

Maj. Kristi Beckma is the Chief of Social Media for European Command Public Affairs

So, based on my fellow blogger, Maj. Jim Gregory’s, last post on the relevancy of European Command, I’d like to take that one step further and put you on the spot, in a nice way of course!

It’s obvious EUCOM is relevant. We’ve been around for 57 years so we’re doing something right. We are a huge provider for NATO, an incredible organization that simply put, brings partner nations together under one umbrella to work world issues TOGETHER.

But, is EUCOM relevant to YOU? Do you care about what the more than 84,000 servicemembers and their families are doing over here, and most importantly if you don’t care, then why not?

I tell you what, I’m going to be honest here…I didn’t care about EUCOM prior to coming here and I’m in the U.S. military!

Of course I knew what EUCOM was and why it existed. For us military folks, (and it’s no different in the civilian sector in your corporations) no matter what your job is, you’ve got to understand where your cog (mission) fits into the machine (overall mission) and then you’ve got to understand how all those others cogs (the rest of the military) work together to make that machine run. So, yah, I knew about EUCOM, but I didn’t really care to read about EUCOM because I was too busy keeping up with my current mission.

I cared about the job I was in and not much else, whether it was working for Air Combat Command at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, or deploying to Joint Task Force Liberia, that was what I cared about. I didn’t “follow” EUCOM.

I know the plethora of information that goes out daily from the U.S. military is intense. But it’s because we are busy folks and we want the world to know all the great things we’re doing or trying to do. Why do we want the world to know? Because we work hard, dangit! We work so hard to do our part to make our world a better place to live and unfortunately that is a daunting task and it seems to get harder as we move further into the future.

At EUCOM alone, we work daily with our 51 partner nations who all have the same purpose. We all just want to live our lives in peace and make something of ourselves. And obviously as two, or rather 51 heads, are better than one, we are determined to work together to make a difference. But does anyone care?

Not sure if I’m making any sense here… I just think our lives get incredibly busy and 24 hours is not enough time to devote yourself to your current mission of YOUR job, YOUR family, YOUR life, and then take the time to care about other missions such as EUCOM.

Nowadays, because of the social media explosion and the tools available to communicate, I find myself following and reading about people and businesses that I wouldn’t otherwise care about. So, if I’ve changed my tune, does that mean that many others have as well?

Are my readers/communicators just going to be folks in Europe or folks who have military members stationed here? How much time do you have to devote to learning about the plethora missions out there? Are my readers just going to follow me when a crisis occurs or are they going to care now? Tell me what you think!

I had a pretty exciting day Sunday as I had the privilege of traveling to London, England, with the Joint Intelligence Operations Center Europe Analytic Center Joint Honor Guard. The Honor Guard was invited to the NFL game to present the colors and I couldn’t wait to experience this with them!

On top of that, the British Joint Color Guard was teaming up with the JAC Honor Guard and they had not met prior to today.

Once both teams arrived, we met with NFL coordinators to get our instructions for the day. We were given a nice room in the underground of the stadium and told to be ready to practice on the field at 12:30 p.m.

Here\'s a great shot of the joint honor and color guard team at the stadium!

We had no idea who would be singing the Star Spangled Banner and imagine our surprise when pop superstar Toni Braxton came walking onto the field. She was very friendly and posed for photos with the team. We also met Welsh singing sensation Katherine Jenkins who sang the British National Anthem.

After practice, we all got a quick bite to eat. It was great learning about each other’s customs and even sharing deployment stories as several members of both teams had deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Then it was time for the teams to go on! After they were in their uniforms, they helped each other straighten medals, shine shoes, buckle belts and don hats. You could just see the pride on every one of their faces as they stood there representing their own service.

Just before game time, the teams moved through the underground tunnel of Wembley Stadium to get ready to go out on the field.

The NFL coordinator came to let us know it was time to go. Both groups assumed their positions as determined during practice and waited for the queue.

It was a moving time as the colors of both nations were presented flawlessly by the group who had just met hours before.

As appreciation for their time and service the NFL gave the group tickets to enjoy the game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New England Patriots.

Before going to their seats the two teams shook hands, exchanged e-mail addresses and Facebook names and laid the foundation for lasting friendships.

The excitement continued after the game, as the team got autographs, game footballs, wrist bands and gloves from the players.

The evening ended with a tired, but very happy team who had represented U.S. European Command and our great nation with pride, made friends for life with their British counterparts and created memories they will never forget.

Melony Angelilli
Public Affairs Officer
Royal Air Force Molesworth, UK

So, here starts my first-ever blog as the Social Media Chief for European Command Public Affairs. I’ve been on the job a mere 18 days now, I know… a long time! In that brief period, I’ve already learned quite a bit about Social Media, something I knew dreadfully nothing about before I arrived here.

After a couple weeks of reading and trial and error, I now know how to use the tools and connect with the right people and do that crucial two-way communication that has long been lacking in the PA world. As my boss says, “Social media is about listening first, and then establishing conversation.”

I read an old Associated Press story from March 2008, where the journalist, Chris Tomlinson, talked about the change of reporting our wars over time. He wrote, “Wars have often been defined by the new technologies that shaped them. The Civil War was the first photographed conflict in U.S. history, news of World War II was delivered by movie news reels, television made Vietnam the living room war and Desert Storm was the first war broadcast live by satellite. Historians will likely remember Operation Iraqi Freedom as War v1.0.”

And now, Social Media allows everyone to talk about everything. We are all citizen journalists. Anyone can report on anything at anytime and get feedback! It’s crazy and it’s wonderful.

Bottom line, I, as a Public Affairs officer, no longer just broadcast info out there. I am now looking and hoping for a return. I need feedback on my product, which is United States European Command. In essence, my employer.

So, therein lies the challenge. How do I, as a PA, spread the word about EUCOM in a way that makes people care and provide feedback? I mean, after all, as I told someone the other day, we are not Ashton Kutcher or CNN, both of who have more than two million followers on Twitter. Did you even know EUCOM was on Twitter? We have more than three thousand followers. Pales in comparison!

What is EUCOM anyway and why should folks care?

Simply put, EUCOM conducts military operations and strives to builds partnerships within its area of responsibility - Europe and Eurasia. Quite a responsibility, huh? We’re doing our slice of the U.S. military mission of ultimately defending the homeland forward.

But again, why should you care?

Let me know what you think! And tell me what would interest you about my product, good, bad or indifferent.

Danke!

Maj. Kristi Beckman
EUCOM Public Affairs
@kristi_beckman
@us_eucom

I'm flying over western Afghanistan at 35,000 feet, just heading out of the country. We're passing over the Caspian Sea and soon will be over the Caucuses.  This is a complicated part of the world.

In three busy days in Afghanistan, I focused on Helmand province and the British and U.S. Marine Corps forces. Over the course of lunch with the provincial Governor - a man in his early 60s and a survivor of many challenging events in Afghanistan - I talked with him about the needs of the district.

Receiving a briefing at Forward Operating Base Shawquat in Nad e-Ali by British troop commander Lieutenant Colonel Roley.

"First is security," he said. "It is the mother of all development." When I pressed him for what comes next on the list, he said, "Education, health, and electricity." With us at the table was the leader of a British Provincial Reconstruction Team, a group of civilian aid workers focusing on development. He seconded the view, and spoke about the programs they are putting in place in this agrarian part of Afghanistan where sadly the principal crop is opium poppies.

The conversation reinforced my oft-stated view that in the end we will not deliver security in Afghanistan from the barrel of a gun. We'll need a few guns along the way, no doubt; but the key is getting the right balance of civilian and military work done in concert together.

My time at Forward Operating Base Shawquat, where British troops are working across the southern Helmand valley, was particularly illuminating. Their approach is clearly one of reaching out in positive ways to the surrounding communities in the heart of the Pashtun south.

I stood in a Sanger, an elevated guard tower built on the ruins of an old British fort from the second Anglo-Afghan war of the 1880s. The young soldier with me had plenty of firepower; but in talking to him, it was clear he'd been carefully briefed on holding back. "The most important bullet is the one you don't fire," one senior leader has said about Afghanistan. The restraint that allows the building of trust between our ISAF forces and the Afghan people is crucial.

After leaving the British operating base, I flew to the U.S. Marine enclave, the headquarters of Task Force Leatherneck, where the commander, Brigadier General Larry Nicholson briefed me before turning me loose to talk to his Marines and Sailors. Larry is a stocky Citadel graduate who has seen plenty of combat, and took serious shrapnel wounds in Iraq. He used a dried poppy stalk as a pointer as he outlined the area for me on a map tacked to his plywood wall. It's a long way from the Pentagon and laser pointers and power point presentations, I thought.

General Nicholson talked about the need for more Afghan troops in the fight alongside coalition forces, and I strongly agree. In fact, my key focus area going forward in my NATO command will be exactly that: training the Afghan security forces, both Army and Police. How does this end? It ends when we train the Afghan people to take care of their country. But they'll need us as a "bridging force" for several years to come, I think.

After a day in the south, I moved on to the capital. In my conversations with Army General Stan McChrystal - the leader of our NATO / International Security Force Afghanistan force of about 70,000 soldiers from 28 NATO nations and 14 other countries - it is clear that he is passionate about getting the civilian-military balance right, and also training the Afghan forces. His new assessment puts the Afghan people at the "center of gravity," and he is looking for the right ways to partner with the international civilian community.

I also met with Ambassador Kai Eide, the UN High Representative. He and Stan sound like solid teammates. Each is seeking the right balance of civilian and military effects, and each is a good-hearted and transparent partner to the other from all that I can see. And each clearly has a strong relationship with the international Ambassadors in Kabul, including Karl Eikenberry of the U.S., an old friend of mine.

The challenges are extraordinary, but so are the people in charge of meeting them. This is my third trip to Afghanistan in the past four months, and I'm cautiously - very cautiously - optimistic. I think the approach laid out - civil military balance, training the Afghan security forces, putting the Afghan people at the heart of the equation, smart communications that tell the story both in country and in capitals around the world - will move us in the right direction.

As the NATO Commander for operations and SACEUR I am very focused on this challenge; and as U.S. European Commander, I am equally aware of the international military partnering that must occur among all the nations involved, the majority from Europe. We really are "stronger together."

Admiral James Stavridis
Commander
U.S. European Command

Over 100 senior military and civilian attorneys from 33 nations joined together in Garmisch, Germany last week for the EUCOM / Marshall Center International Legal Conference. Participants built bridges between the diverse cultures and legal structures in our area of focus through panel discussions, plenary addresses from US and international experts, and lively Q&A.

Dean Michael Schmitt of The Marshall Center speaks at the International Legal Conference

The focus of the conference was simple – what legal issues are ‘hot’ in Europe for military legal advisers? For example, should the NATO SOFA be re-written? When do contractors on the battlefield cross the line and become illegal combatants? Why should military attorneys pay attention to climate changes in the Arctic? When is cyber attack an act of war?

The exchange of ideas was invaluable. With the strong feelings that these sensitive legal questions engender and the political ramifications of differing interpretations of the law, the opportunity to compare opinions and find common ground yields long term benefits. EUCOM and the Marshall Center are proud to provide a forum for these discussions through the International Legal Conference, and we look forward to next year, with even more international collaboration from our partners in Europe and Eurasia.

Kirk H. Samson
EUCOM Attorney Advisor

I just returned to Patch Barracks, Germany from Knin, Croatia where I had the unique opportunity to spend time with a few of the Airmen deployed from the 435th Construction and Training Squadron (CTS), stationed at Ramstein AB, Germany. They function as a rapidly deployable construction unit with capabilities such as: carpentry, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, pavement and road construction. After seeing them in action, I know that the previous list is just a portion of their skills.

The Airmen are there to support infrastructure initiatives and humanitarian assistance projects that encourage refugees to resettle in the local area.

When the Chief of the Office of Cooperation in Zagreb, LTC Chuck Davis, and I caught up with the Airmen, they were in the middle of a refurbishment project to the hospital in Knin which serves the local population of 15,000 and the surrounding communities. Now with the help of the U.S. European Command and United States Air Forces in Europe, this hospital and the local population are seeing tangible results and have another reason to take pride in this beautiful mountain town.

This project has garnered attention from the press. Scarcely an hour after our arrival, the press arrived to interview the director of the hospital, the Brigade Commander of the Croatian Guards Motorized Brigade - Brigadier General Fuzul, the Mayor of Knin, and LTC Davis.

Media interviewing hospital director in Knin, Croatia

All emphasized the importance of the project to the people of the area. A half hour after leaving the hospital, while we shared a lunch at a local restaurant, our Croatian hosts at one point quieted the table and asked the restaurant staff to turn up the radio - the story was being broadcast on local radio with the voice of the translator replacing that of LTC Davis. Their report was positive. I have been told that the newspaper coverage the following day was equally positive.

Fourteen members of 435 CTS have worked hard to improve the sanitation of the hospital by repairing and painting the walls throughout the hospital - this is not the kind of paint job that you or I would do on a weekend at home, but rather the complete sealing of the walls with a high-gross paint on a well prepped surface that can be easily cleaned and kept sanitary. As well, they installed reinforced steel edges on the walls to resist the erosion from the bumping of gurneys when transporting patients. Walking in the children's ward I rounded one of these corners destined for steel reinforcing, only to find two airmen with masks and sledgehammers making small work of the pre-existing bathroom: the new bathrooms will include rugged, commericial faucets that will conserve water, a precious commodity.

Two airmen suveying ventilation system of hospital in Knin, Croatia

The ventilation system is being brought back into function, allowing the system to circulate fresh air into the building and remove potential microbes in the air. The Airmen are also replacing radiators which had ceased to adequately heat because of rust and sediment build-up. The new ones will function better and have clearance from the wall to allow forquick and effective cleaning.

Two airmen from the 435th CTS offloading new radiators

This project is especially important because its focus is primarily the hospital's children's ward. It is a focus that the Airmen were proud to highlight by painting the ward in bright, cheerful colors, the kind of colors they would want their own children to have around them while they recuperate.

As this project winds down, I know that our airmen will leave with heavy hearts.

LTC Davis and BG Fuzul

Our thanks goes to the hospital staff, the people of Knin and our local military hosts for their hospitality throughout the visit of the professionals of the 435 CTS.

Hvala! Dovidjenja, vidimo se opet! "Thanks! See you soon!"

Major Eric Tramel, USAF
HQ US European Command
Humanitarian and Civic Assistance Program Manager

This is my first blog as Supreme Allied Commander, Europe and Commander of U.S. European Command. I am the first Admiral to assume these two jobs, and the fifteenth officer in a line stretching back to General Dwight D. Eisenhower.

It is humbling to walk in the steps of my distinguished predecessors, and I am excited to join two superb teams – one in Mons, Belgium (SHAPE) and the other in Stuttgart, Germany (EUCOM).

I spent some wonderful years in Europe and am glad to be back. I lived in Greece as a child in the 1960s while my father, a U.S. Marine Corps Officer, served as Assistant Naval Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Greece. My wife, Laura, also lived in Greece during that time, and returned to Europe in the 1970s as a high school student at the U.S. Department of Defense Dependents School in Brussels while her father, a U.S. Naval Aviator, served on the U.S. Mission to NATO. Both Laura and I enjoyed our prior time in Europe, and we are looking forward to more.

You will have noticed that I have titled this blog “From the Bridge.” I’ve done so not because of the naval reference (the bridge is the area on a ship from which it is commanded) but because of the function that both SHAPE and EUCOM serve as important links between the United States and our friends in Europe, effectively “bridging” the Atlantic.

As I look at these two commands, my initial sense is that I will try to continue an approach that worked successfully in my previous command, U.S. Southern Command, which focuses on Latin America and the Caribbean. While the two regions are very different, many of the most important tasks are similar:

- Undertaking international security cooperation in a way that is respectful of the technology, culture and language of our Allies and partners, and increases our collective capability

- Conducting interagency cooperation, and supporting our interagency teammates in their important work

- Focusing strategic communication to articulate our message, coordinating it with Allies, partners and friends, and disseminating it in both traditional and innovative ways

Addressing the EUCOM staff and guests for the first time as the Commander during the Change of Command ceremony on 30 June in Stuttgart. (Photo by David Robinson)

My goal in these first days and weeks is to spend a great deal of time walking around and listening to the teams in both Mons and Stuttgart. I will be visiting all of our components very soon, and will also begin traveling throughout Europe and to Afghanistan.

On the NATO side I will focus on Afghanistan and the many other NATO operations; our relations with Russia, which needs to be constructive and transparent; and on helping with developing a strategic concept for the alliance. I look forward very much to meeting the incoming Secretary-General and renewing a friendship with the current Secretary-General.

From Stuttgart, I want to work hard on developing partnership capacity with our friends throughout the region; conducting effective operations across the spectrum of activity and throughout the region; and enhancing interagency cooperation.

In both Mons and Stuttgart, our ability to articulate our message and communicate it intelligently will be key; it will get a fair amount of my emphasis. As a leader, I’m committed to communicating effectively, transparently, and honestly. The professional characteristics that matter to me are simple: civility, quiet confidence, creativity, teamwork and collaboration, determination, and – above all – honesty and integrity. I’ll write a future post about these characteristics and why I think they are essential.

Let me close with a thank you to everyone at both commands for the superb change of command ceremonies and the warm welcome. I look forward to accomplishing great things working alongside you!

Admiral James G. Stavridis
Commander
United States European Command

SPP Fact Sheet
Welcome to the 2009 European Command State Partnership Program (SPP) Conference and thanks for following us as a virtual participant in what is sure to be an exciting week for us in Stuttgart. My staff and I at the EUCOM Reserve Affairs Directorate have put together a thought-provoking, forward-leaning agenda for our resident and virtual participants alike.

For our followers who are not familiar with the State Partnership Program, it’s simply about building and nurturing relationships so we can enhance the military, civil authority and security capabilities of our 21 partner countries in Europe and Eurasia. From its groundbreaking start in 1993 after the fall of the Berlin Wall, this program has evolved into one of the premier tools of the U.S. government to bridge divides and help our partner countries train and build their military and civil security capabilities. SPP has been the U.S. government’s most economic capability-building tools for our partner countries. Through the powerful relationships between states and partners, everyone works together to develop military and security capabilities that can be fully employed locally, regionally and by NATO. In many cases, these relationships are so strong, the National Guard states and their partner countries form teams and deploy together to support operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

One of the beauties of the State Partnership Program is its use of U.S. National Guard forces from various states. They are our primary relationship builders. These highly skilled Citizen Soldiers and Airmen leverage and share their military and civilian expertise with counterparts in their partner nations, resulting in synergistic cooperation at it’s best.

With our conference this week, we will propel our State Partnership Program agenda to new levels. This conference is truly a game changer event, not just for EUCOM, but, we think, for our sister combatant commands and their partner countries around the world. Our goal is to develop comprehensive concepts that will have applicability across the board.

The heart of the conference is six highly interactive workshops where we will develop playbooks that enable our National Guard state forces to better engage with their partner countries on military and civil authoritative levels. These playbooks will form the core of a new paradigm we call “Enhanced SPP,” something we think is critical for regional security and stabilization, as well as for partner-country security and stabilization.

“Enhanced SPP” incorporates valuable expertise of state-government agencies and the military expertise of state National Guards. We export this expertise to partner nations in a collaborative training environment with the ultimate goal being the self-sustainability of the partner nations’ government and military. For example, “Enhanced SPP” can bring world class port security expertise to help our partner nations develop sustainable programs that both improve security while effectively balancing commercial requirements. The same approach can be applied to emergency management, intelligence fusion, counter narcotics and a host of other areas where our state agencies have a wealth of expertise and our partner nations have a thirst for the capability.

On the military front, our goal is to continue to help our partners develop effective militaries that can be employed and deployed both in the region for security and stability and exported to other regions as required. Use of National Guard forces for this mission is the most cost effective approach for the U.S. government. “Enhanced SPP” will raise the engagement bar considerably. We will continue the time tested military-to-military “engagement model,” but at a higher level.

As I said earlier, relationships matter. The State Partnership Program at EUCOM is perhaps our best way to develop and nourish long standing, mutually beneficial relationships with our European allies and partner countries. During our conference, we will look as ways to make those relationships better and more robust through engagement strategies and strategic communication.

I invite you to enjoy EUCOM’s SPP Conference through this and other forums. Follow us on Twitter via #SPP and #EUCOM.

Brigadier General Jeffery Marshall, United States Army
Director, European Command Directorate of Mobilization and Reserve Affairs

This weekend we will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Over 100,000 Americans buried in European soil gave their lives fighting against tyranny and injustice in Europe over the past century. The international commitment to an enduring peace and stability in Europe was memorialized with the creation of NATO, an organization that has become an historical benchmark for underwriting the security of nations to support unprecedented prosperity and freedom. The United States, as a founding member of NATO, has maintained a significant military presence within Europe, with the full blessing of the host-nation governments, throughout the organization’s history. This presence has signified a tangible and reassuring commitment to that enduring peace and stability.

Today, however, US forces—from the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard—are here in Europe in numbers much reduced from the Cold War era for reasons that are uniquely suited to a drastically changed strategic reality. The United States “fights”—not just in combat but before and after hostilities as well—in coalitions. It is no coincidence that the vast majority of our coalition partners come from the European Command theater, where the US has maintained its commitment not only to the security of our European neighbors, but to the creation of partner capacity to bring peace and stability anywhere in the world it is needed. It is no coincidence that over 85% of the partner flags that currently serve in Afghanistan—a force of over 28,000—come from EUCOM’s theater. And it is no coincidence that some of our most reliable partners, day in and day out, are found here in Europe. Because US forces are a recognizable presence within Europe, because US forces train regularly with our European and Eurasian partners, and because US forces have helped build a capacity for the forces of almost every country within the European Command theater to deploy and operate together with the forces of the United States, we now have the capability to address threats to global peace and stability with a coalition that clearly understands the threat and has developed the tools to meet it at its doorstep.

Our Europe-stationed forces not only assure our NATO allies of our commitment to our mutual stability and security, but they train and “fight” with our European and Eurasian partners and allies in Afghanistan and Iraq in a coalition that reduces further strain to our own forces. The focus of US forces stationed in Europe has thus shifted from Providing Security to Europe to Providing Security from Europe. Maintaining these forces and bases in Europe and Eurasia is perhaps the most effective investment in global security the United States can make.

Col Eric Beene, U.S. Air Force
Chief of Strategy
US European Command J5