A Pretty Good Birthday

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