The J5/8 Directorate develops basic military/political policy and planning for command activities involving relations with other U.S. combatant commands, allied, and international military organizations, as well as subordinate commands.

Ambassador Susan M. Elliott began her assignment as the Civilian Deputy to the Commander and Foreign Policy Advisor, United States European Command in November 2015. This transcript contains her remarks at the American Chamber of Commerce on Jan. 27, 2016

Approximately 25 journalists dialed in for the call with Major General Allvin on Feb. 29, 2016. GEN Allvin took 12 questions from seven countries plus AFP on the array of ERI lines of effort, emphasizing the U.S. commitment to its allies and to strengthening military presence/capabilities across Europe. He made clear that Congress still needs to weigh in with respect to specific details about pre-positioning and infrastructure, but the goal is rapid response in areas that need support to counter potential adversary action. When asked specifically about Russia’s actions, he responded that he can’t speculate about Russian decision making, but we can take decisions based on the behavior we see. The dynamic new security environment requires a rapid response, and the ERI is intended to increase interoperability to that end.

The U.S. European Command's Social Media Hub offers information and resources related to the maintenance and use of official social media sites and pages, to include social networking pages, blogs, and file-sharing sites.

Defense leaders at this year’s Munich Security Conference discussed several topics to include Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, and the drawdown of U.S. forces in Europe. SSgt John Archiquette has this story from Munich.

The Munich Security Conference is one of the largest gatherings on defense policy. This year, the main focus is on the future role of the U.S. and NATO in Afghanistan.

Over the past decade, the Munich Security Conference has brought in defense leaders from around the globe to discuss the latest security issues and challenges affecting today’s world. The conference kicks off today. AFN’s Gary Bautell will be talking to senior defense officials from several nations and gives us a quick look at what we can expect.

WASHINGTON — Changes made to the way the Defense Department applies the law that bans gay men and lesbians from serving openly in the military means that officials will apply the law in a more fair and appropriate manner, the Pentagon's top lawyer said here March 26.

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on March 25 announced changes to the Pentagon's regulation on homosexuals serving in the military that he said make the Defense Department's enforcement of the so-called "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law "fairer and more appropriate."

WASHINGTON — Attention all Facebookers, Twitter tweeters and YouTubers: a new Defense Department policy authorizes you to access these and other Web 2.0 platforms from nonclassified government computers, as long as it doesn't compromise operational security or involve prohibited activities or Web sites.