Five Pillars of Strong Europe
About the Five Pillars
Enhancing the Alliance, Leader Development and Readiness are the Army in Europe's enduring priorities. The leadership in Army Europe uses five pillars to support these enduring priorities.
They are: Empowering Junior Leaders; Army Reserve and National Guard support; Allies and Partners; Regionally Allocated Forces; and Dynamic Presence. All of these components are the DNA that makes up Strong Europe.
Now, more than ever, NATO is faced with increased security threats from a multitude of sources. In this complex and dynamic European security environment, strengthening the alliance through improving NATO's maneuver and sustainment capabilities, developing innovative and adaptive leaders that have the freedom to take initiative to accomplish any mission, and always being ready to guarantee our Article 5 obligation to support the Collective Defense of the alliance by instilling an expeditionary mindset through episodic exercises in a highly energized theater are all part and parcel to what makes our presence in Europe beneficial to the U.S. and Europe.
U.S. Army Europe is a leadership laboratory that empowers junior leaders to thrive in a complex operating environment. These leaders are expected operate in an environment of distributed operations -- often serving as the senior U.S. representative in a country. Under these conditions, they encounter unique challenges that could never be replicated outside of Europe.
Junior leaders are executing the full range of operations from tactical to strategic as they integrate with our allies and partners, developing as leaders as described in the Army Operating Concept.
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Integration of the National Guard and Army Reserve into the U.S. Army Europe team is a major component to making 30,000 Soldiers look and feel like 300,000. Army Reserve and Guard Soldiers have played a vital role in boosting land force capability across USAREUR's footprint through the 21 states that participate in the State Partnership Program in 22 different countries and by leveraging Overseas Deployment Training rotations.
The National Guard is resourced with units that supplement the active force and the Army Reserve provides both individuals and units. When we synchronize and integrate these assets, we achieve greater component interoperability and capability in Europe.
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- Ohio National Guard sends team of Air Defenders to train with NATO allies
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- US, Romania showcase engineering capabilities during Resolute Castle event
Working with our allies and partners is the normal way to operate in Europe. We contribute to strengthening our alliance as part of the NATO Collective Defense.
The 7th Army Training Command is a place where U.S. forces with our allies and partners train and practice interoperability. Our exercises and daily training focus on interoperability and interdependence.
Additionally, Operation Atlantic Resolve has resulted in 50 battalion-sized or greater exercises carried out from the Baltics to Black Sea so far this year.
In USAREUR, it is not unusual to find U.S. tanks crossing a German-assembled bridge on British trucks. Together we forge a powerful land power network that simultaneously deters aggression and assures the security of our allies.
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- Photos
- Learning and growing together, one level at a time
- Growing together by leaps and bounds
- Allied Soldiers build on fundamentals during training
- US, Estonian soldiers conduct Exercise Saaremaa Island
- American flag, Soldiers in Eastern Europe, signify strength of alliance
- US, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria train together at Rapid Trident 2015
- US, Moldovan signaleers build communications interoperability
- Rapid Trident moves to the field
- Exercise Allied Spirit II strengthens NATO interoperability, relationships
U.S. Army Europe continues to lead the Army in integration of Regionally Allocated Forces, or RAF, by leveraging the European Rotational Force and multiple rotational aligned units.
The 4th Infantry Division's alignment with Europe further enables USAREUR to conduct joint and combined training in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve using USAREUR-assigned forces. These forces train closely with our allies to improve interoperability, demonstrate the Army's power projection capability, and provide assurance to our allies.
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- Photos
- Learning and growing together, one level at a time
- 4th Infantry Division temporarily relocates headquarters to Lithuania
- Soldiers celebrate independence with Lithuanian partners
- US Stryker crews sharpen skills during gunnery training in Poland
- US, Polish Soldiers take to water for training
- Engineer team inspects damaged Georgian city
- US Black Hawks elevate training during Atlantic Resolve
Dynamic Presence enables U.S. Army Europe's connection to our allies, local government leaders and civilians in the U.S. and Europe. NATO is the most successful alliance, with over 60 years of history.
USAREUR is a smaller force than in previous years, but we leverage every opportunity to develop relationships and capabilities throughout Europe.
In 2015, we conducted over 50 battalion level and above exercises. Dynamic Presence is how land power is committed to European security. Through dynamic presence we demonstrate and tell the Strong Europe story.
Sometimes dynamic presence is a full battalion commitment to an exercise, other times it is a single Soldier liaison officer or a meeting between key leaders from allied and partnered nations. It is constant contact with others, in Europe and the U.S.
Dynamic presence is USAREUR's culture and in it we live the eight tenets of Army Operations: initiative, simultaneity, depth, adaptability, endurance, lethality, mobility and innovation.
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- Odierno visits Soldiers in Germany
- Army provides 'gravitational pull' in Europe
- U.S. NATO, USAREUR senior leaders meet for SALM 2015
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- "Black Sea Region prepared for increased activity"
