Blog Posts from March, 2010
Interagency Partnering -- Batter Up!
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
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- Department of Defense
- Department of Transportation
- department of state
- U.S. Agency for International Development
- ICE
- partnership
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement
- Interagency
- immigration
- Eurasia
- USAID
- Europe
- foreign policy
Progress Continues in the Balkans
The good cooperation between NATO, the EU, and the Kosovo Police and Security Forces has been noteworthy. I had a chance to observe a very impressive exercise conducted between the three entities against a mock “riot.” The three layers of response (Kosovo Police, EU, and NATO) reacted properly and smoothly. It is clear that coordination between the local forces and the two external agencies are going well, and we’ll continue to improve on it.
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U.S., “Team Brussels” and EUCOM
On Nov. 25, 2009 I proposed in these spaces an idea of linking the leadership of U.S. European Command with the senior U.S. leaders based in Brussels, the “Capital of Europe.” Then I suggested a meeting involving America’s geographic military command in Europe - EUCOM, with the 3 U.S. Ambassadors representing America to Belgium, NATO and the European Union. I’m happy to report that that idea materialized into a productive, informative visit March 19, 2010.
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A Week on Capitol Hill
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).
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Social Media in Afghanistan and European Command
How do we do social media at U.S. European Command? My VLog is here to help answer that question, as well as tell you what the troops in Afghanistan are doing at the NATO Training Mission - Afghanistan. This is my first VLog so I hope you enjoy it and please share your thoughts ... And don't forget: It's a social thing, so let's socialize! [wpvideo 4iz3GiGe]
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Quality of Life Conference 2010 – Our voices will be heard
When I was selected to participate in the Quality of Life Conference, I can honestly say I had no idea what to expect. After arriving here at the conference, I was very surprised at the relaxing, yet passionate atmosphere I experienced. I was placed in the Community Services I Group. My group was very energetic, enthusiastic and full of really great ideas. There were times of strong disagreements, but we were always able to come to a conclusion that was beneficial to all of EUCOM.
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Health of the Force – Day 3 of the QoL Conference
What should have been a pretty smooth morning, only turned upside down. My focus group, Health of the Force received shocking news that one of our top two topics to be address this afternoon, needed to be rebuilt from the ground up. It was back to the butcher board. Despite some remaining conflicting points of view, it was thanks to our groups amazing negotiating and team skills that we were able to revitalize the topic we felt most passionate about presenting. That is the beauty of being a part of this process. Despite the difference of views and opinion, the bottom line is we are here for the benefit of our community.
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Community Service II – Medical Screening
This is my first time attending a Quality of Life (QoL) Conference, but what an opportunity it has been for me. This conference has enabled me to express so many morale issues that affect my location. As a secondary effect, I was able to interact with members of other services and align my issues with these sister services to create a joint or “purple” problem.
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Thoughts on how to bring POWER forward
As a social worker, who has worked for so many years in the civilian sector, I am always amazed at how well the military tries to take care of its soldiers and families. If only the rest of the people in the U.S. had access to some of the wonderful programs designed to support and enhance families and their quality of life. I have been at the Quality of Life Conference here in Garmisch since Monday, and have been impressed and moved by the enthusiasm, true caring, and willingness to help that the military has for the people who dedicate their lives to our country.
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Real life issues addressed at the Quality of Life Conference
The life that a man or woman experiences while serving in the military is often one of sacrifice, hardship and honor. A normal day is often long and stressful. Families aren't perfect outside the military and they are no different inside except the normal stressors on a military family are extraordinary. Families break all the time. Some breaks are permanent, some temporary, some caused by the stressors of a military life. Now throw in deployments to overseas locations where families cope with strong cultural challenges, language barriers, and being a thousand miles from their own homeland. Now we have to throw 9 years of combat operations into the mix. Deployments mean more sacrifice, hardship and places fragile families in danger of breaking and solid families endure loneliness, depression and loss of intimacy.
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The Quality Of Life Conference comes to an end for 2010
Ok, for those of you who were paying attention and can count are probably thinking … if there were only 4 focus groups, how can there be a “Top 10." One can say a lot about the Texas educational system, but it did teach me that 4 times 2 does not equal 10. So the additional 2 issues came from The European Strategy Conference, which focuses on remote Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC) areas, held last week in Ramstein, Germany.
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Navy Chaplain talks with Orthodox Military Chaplains in Republic of Georgia
While in port at Batumi, Georgia onboard the USS JOHN L HALL (I had a unique opportunity to meet with two Georgian Orthodox priests, Father Theodor and Father Nikos, who are both part of the growing/emerging professional chaplaincy program in Georgia.
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Quality of Life: A Purple Issue
Garmisch is known for its skiing and leisure options but little do most people know that in the lower conference rooms of the Edelweisse Lodge and Resort Quality of Life (QoL) issues are being battled out. I did not know what was in store for me when I was selected to attend the QoL 2010 conference. I knew the meaning of the term quality of life but I did not know how concerned military officials were with it. Much to my amazement, military officials seriously care about issues affecting our service members and their families.
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A Technology Milestone in Public Affairs
History was made yesterday, to a small degree, when we FINALLY received our eight Public Affairs iPhones yesterday. My team spent most of the day synchronizing all of the handhelds with a central stand-alone desktop PC and getting familiar with the infinite number of features and functionality that the iPhone is known for. It was like playing with a new toy for countless hours (yes, I did get some sleep last night). One thing that was very apparent to the team was the iPhone's ease of navigation and its quick access speed to the 3G network here in Germany. We hope to really put our new tool and capability to the test by evaluating its functionality, as we cover our activities in other parts of Europe. In the end, I hope the iPhone will prove itself to be a powerful tool that will streamline EUCOM's two-way communication efforts across all of our PA capabilities, European partner nations and cyber communities.
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Community Service II – Day 3 – Quality of Life Conference
As we worked through the descriptions of the mentioned problem, the active duty members and spouses in our group stepped into situations that none of us want to face. The curtain that is always present was pulled away as we thought about and discussed what our service members and their families (spouses, next of kin, etc) go through, emotionally and mentally, during times of great loss.
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Youth Teen and Dependent Education – Day 2
As a group we collectively created a program to eliminate the adult ‘middle man’ process resulting in what we are interested in being expressed. This program, if allotted the five year requested trial program, is expected by the young adult delegates to directly reduce the amount of at-risk behavior.
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Health of the Force
Commencing early this morning, our focus group quickly began working together to further deepen what issues we were attempting to address. By discussing amongst ourselves details such as Describe the Problem; what is the desired outcome; stating the Recommendation for achieving desired outcome; stating the Limitations to carry out recommendations or achieving desired outcome. As with any discussion, questions did come up amongst group members. Even small disagreements as to, were our top issues necessarily the most important to address.
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P.O.W.E.R. at the EUCOM QOL Conference
I am here not as a delegate, not as an observer or even as a Subject Matter Expert, aka the SME… but here because I belong to the P.O.W.E.R. Group – a program that was put into place based on the needs expressed from attendees at conferences just like this!
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Quality of Life Conference winds down
The four focus groups, Health of the Force, Community Service I and II, and the Youth/Teen Dependent Education, have worked hard for the last four days. It has been an interesting experience for me. I have had an opportunity to sit in on a couple of the focus groups and on every occasion everyone was highly engaged in the discussions and very passionate about every issue.
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Quality Of Life Conference: Day One
After the video, the Chief of Staff for EUCOM, Army Maj. Gen. John Morgan provided the opening remarks welcoming everyone to the conference…and so it began.
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Teenagers at the Quality of Life Conference
Hi I’m Brannon Niblock and I am a first timer at the QoL Conference in Garmish. As a Teen Representative from MARFOREUR I am a part of the Youth Delegate Crew.
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Day 1: Community Service Issues and Top 10
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.
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Health of the Force Focus Group at the Quality of Life Conference
Well, I have to say “Welcome" to everyone attending this year’s Quality of Life Conference. I have been in Germany for all of four months and thrilled to be here in the beautiful city of Garmisch. As a new Delegate for the Ansbach community, being a part of EUCOM’s mission for Quality of Life has turned out to be quite an experience.
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Community Services II Focus Group at the Quality of Life Conference
Grüss Gott from Edelweiss Lodge in the picturesque Bavarian town of Garmisch, Germany. My name is Thomas and I have the wonderful and unique privilege to represent my fellow Airmen and service members at the EUCOM Quality of Life conference. The overarching mission of the conference is to identify “purple” issues, or those who affect the entire European theater for all service members and their families. All delegates have converged here after soliciting and compiling inputs from our local environments in order to elevate the most pertinent concerns.
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What Have You Jumped Into Lately?
Last week in Kaiserslautern, Germany, the Fort Benning Jumpmaster Mobile Training Team graduated 19 new jumpmasters. I was among the graduates and my head still hurts from memorizing pre-jump training, my nerves are still frayed from PWAC (Practical Work in the Aircraft) and my fingers are still healing from JMPI (Jumpmaster Personnel Inspection). If you’ve been to the course, you know exactly what I’m talking about!
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EUCOM Quality of Life Conference starts
I was at EUCOM for about two months when I heard of a section within EUCOM called Quality of Life (QoL). Now I have to admit, when I first heard of the QoL section, I had no idea what they did let alone what their mission at EUCOM was. In my many years of being in the Army, I have never heard of a section within a command whose main function was improving the quality of life for its military and family members.Obviously, I had a few questions…what do they do and more importantly, what happens at these conferences? Quite frankly, what is Quality of Life?
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Off to Washington!
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.
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Camaraderie keeps troops warm during winter exercise
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.
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Visiting our Allies in Western Europe
If you read this blog regularly, you know I am committed to engaging actively and personally around the region to futher our shared security objectives. Last week was yet another busy week of travel in Europe.
Comments: 2
In your article "Batter Up" I agree as a current USAF Security Forces reservist and a full time Customs and Border Protection employee, there is a definite need for interagency team work to address the many missions of the command. In answering your question regarding which agency should be included in the mix I would think "Interpol" would provide benefits in coordination for law enforcement, liaison and cross training functions across the spectrum of countries in EUCOM. I think they, Interpol, bring recognition and historical interaction with multiple countries worldwide. Thank you for the opportunity to provide this feedback. JDF - 5 May 2010
Well written Mike, surprised to see your name, sure is a small world. I agree with your assessment though, and hope the powers that be hear what you are saying. Things are the same back here in the burg. Wanted to thank you for your service to this country. It's men and women like you that keep this country strong. With Respect and Gratitude, Michael Wurm Laingsburg, Michigan 48848