Blog

27/07/2009 | 0 comments

I started last week in Lisbon, on the heels of a trip to Stuttgart the previous Friday for staff briefings at European Command (EUCOM) and EUCOM's Annual Summer Reception, which included a spectacular concert with an Elvis Presley impersonator in full U.S. Army regalia!

21/07/2009 | 0 comments

The NATO Sea Day – held only once every two years – was an unqualified success. The object is to bring to sea the key decision makers in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization: the Secretary General and his Deputy; the entire Permanent Representatives from NATO's decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council (all 28 nations of course have an ambassador-rank official assigned to Brussels); the Military Committee (each Chief of Defense – those of us from the U.S. would say Chairman of the Joint Chiefs – is a member, and each has a full-time, very senior representative in Brussels); and key personnel from the operational staff, i.e. Allied Command Operations / Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe.

14/07/2009 | 0 comments

As I settle into a rhythm as both SACEUR and EUCOM Commander, it's a good time to reflect on what kind of organization I want to lead. Several qualities have worked well for me as touchstones in the past – from my earliest days in the Navy – and I pass them along as a pretty good way to do business.

02/07/2009 | 1 comments

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.