EUCOM training prepares future leaders for DoD

STUTTGART, Germany—Often the best leaders are those who have first-hand experience in the tasks they manage.

In the Defense Department, that equates to getting in the trenches to fire a weapon, sitting in the driver's seat of a tank, or maybe even climbing up three stories and jumping from an airborne training tower. Why? Simply, to have a better understanding of what it feels like to be in uniform.

This is what DoD strives to achieve each year with the Executive Leadership Development Program (ELDP). This year is no exception.

Established in 1985, the 10-month program prepares future government leaders for issues facing the Department of Defense. In addition to seminars—where experts in defense, foreign affairs and politics address the class—participants receive intensive field experience at military installations around the country and overseas.

This year's group, comprised of approximately 70 students and instructors representing military agencies from around the world, are training within the U.S. European Command theater April 1-10. They are visiting NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium; SHAPE in Mons, Belgium; EUCOM Headquarters, here; the Joint Multinational Training Command in Grafenwöhr, Germany; and U.S. Naval Forces Europe, in Naples, Italy. The class also gets the added benefit of international training with German Soldiers in Magdeburg and Berlin, Germany.

The EUCOM training provides the students with hands-on exposure to the roles and missions of the command and an appreciation for the interaction with NATO and foreign nations.

"The program goal is to ensure, as these students move into higher levels of management and decision-making positions, their experiences from ELDP will help them have a positive impact on the men and women in uniform," said Laura Morandi, EUCOM's chief of civilian personnel.