U.S. European Command’s mission is to ensure ready forces and access to execute high-priority contingency plans while supporting other Combatant Commands.

Vehicles and equipment are staged at the designated offload pier during a pre-planned Single Ship Movement and offload of military equipment from a Maritime Prepositioning Force ship in the Trøndelag region of Norway. U.S. Marines from 2nd Marine Logistics Group out of Camp Lejeune, NC, in coordination with their Norwegian counterparts, are modernizing some of the equipment currently stored within six caves as a part of the Marine Corps Prepositioning Program-Norway by placing approximately 350 containers of gear and nearly 400 pieces of heavy rolling stock into the storage caves. Specific equipment which will greatly increase the program's readiness includes M1A1 Main Battle Tanks, Tank Retrievers, Armored Breeching Vehicles, Amphibious Assault Vehicles, Expanded Capacity Vehicle (ECV) Gun Trucks and several variants of the MTVR 7-1/2 ton trucks.

M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks and other vehicles and equipment are staged for transportation at the designated offload pier during a pre-planned Single Ship Movement and offload of military equipment from a Maritime Prepositioning Force ship in the Trøndelag region of Norway. U.S. Marines from 2nd Marine Logistics Group out of Camp Lejeune, NC, in coordination with their Norwegian counterparts, are modernizing some of the equipment currently stored within six caves as a part of the Marine Corps Prepositioning Program-Norway by placing approximately 350 containers of gear and nearly 400 pieces of heavy rolling stock into the storage caves. Specific equipment which will greatly increase the program's readiness includes M1A1 Main Battle Tanks, Tank Retrievers, Armored Breeching Vehicles, Amphibious Assault Vehicles, Expanded Capacity Vehicle (ECV) Gun Trucks and several variants of the MTVR 7-1/2 ton trucks.

Armored variants of the M1114 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) are transported by truck from a ship offload location to one of six caves which make up the Marine Corps Prepositioning Program-Norway during an equipment modernization operation. U.S. Marines from 2nd Marine Logistics Group out of Camp Lejeune, NC, in coordination with their Norwegian counterparts, are modernizing some of the equipment by placing approximately 350 containers of gear and nearly 400 pieces of heavy rolling stock into the storage caves. Specific equipment which will greatly increase the program's readiness includes M1A1 Main Battle Tanks, Tank Retrievers, Armored Breeching Vehicles, Amphibious Assault Vehicles, Expanded Capacity Vehicle (ECV) Gun Trucks and several variants of the MTVR 7-1/2 ton trucks.

Sergeant Geoffrey Wisman, a supply clerk with Black Sea Rotational Force 14, and Lance Cpl. Justin Garn, a military policeman with BSRF-14, review their map during a land navigation class in Mihail Kogalniceanu, Romania Jan. 9, 2014. Participants have received classes on land navigation, combat lifesaving, the combat orders process, improvised explosive device indicators and Marine Corps history, customs and courtesies.

A U.S. Marine color guard enters the Memorial Day ceremony at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in Belleau Wood, France, May 26, 2013. EUCOM and its components supported 22 ceremonies in six countries throughout the weekend.

U.S. Marines and French service members support the Memorial Day ceremony at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in Belleau Wood, France, May 26, 2013. EUCOM and its components supported 22 ceremonies in six countries throughout the weekend.

This deployment of U.S. Marines, and the fact that the United States has an air base in the region for them to deploy to, is another example of why the American military presence in Europe is so important.

In coordination with U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe and U.S. Marine Corps Forces Africa, the community of U.S. European Command, U.S. Africa Command, and USAG Stuttgart had “hands-on” experience with the MV-22B Osprey during a capabilities exercise.

Maritime forces participating in Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 2012, the largest multinational maritime exercise this year in the Baltic Sea, demonstrated a land, sea and air amphibious operation for international distinguished visitors here, June 11.

EUCOM Forces are assigned to five distinct component commands responsible for conducting broad spectrum operations throughout Europe.

Supports EUCOM operations by advising the commander, other component commanders and task force commanders on the capabilities and proper employment of U.S. Marine Corps forces.

The Marines were in Georgia for Exercise Agile Spirit 2011, an exercise designed to increase interoperability between Georgian Armed Forces and Marines. The engineers’ job: to build relationships with the Eastern European nation by offering their skills to its people.

There are machine gun sections with approximately 20 machine gunners each in regular infantry weapons companies but Machine Gun Platoon is the only unit where close to 70 machine gunners come together to train.

The surgeons and corpsmen of 4th Medical Battalion, Pittsburgh, Penn., are displaying that capability while deployed to the Republic of Georgia and participating in Exercise Agile Spirit 2011.

Marines from Anti-Terrorism Battalion based in Rochester, N.Y., and Black Sea Rotational Force 11, along with soldiers from the Georgian 4th Infantry Brigade practiced Military Operations in an Urban Terrain (MOUT) here during Exercise Agile Spirit 2011.

U.S. Marines, standing alongside Georgian soldiers, officially kicked-off Exercise Agile Spirit 2011, a two-week combined forces counterinsurgency and peacekeeping operations training exercise on the historic base of Vaziani, a former Russian airfield outside of Tblisi on July 18.

U.S. Marines and soldiers with Black Sea Rotational Force 11 travelled to Buzau, Romania, to provide the Romanian army a familiarization course to display the capabilities of the Raven-B, unmanned aerial vehicle.

With AK-47 assault rifles locked-and-loaded, a line of Macedonian troops stand in front of their targets at a combat marksmanship range on BTA. On the command to shoot, dust from the ground erupts from behind their targets and fills the air from their Kalashnikovs’ rounds engaging their “enemies.”

Reserve Marines attached to the Ground Combat Element, Black Sea Rotational Force-11, got the unique opportunity to train in Visit, Board, Search and Seizure techniques from Marine instructors attached to Marine Corps Security Forces Regiment, Norfolk, Va., and work alongside U.S. Coast Guardsmen aboard U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Sea Otter, San Diego, Calif. The week-long, condensed course concluded March 26.

Well guarded within 671,000 sq. feet of six climate-controlled caves, $420 million worth of Marine Corps equipment and supplies lie ready for real world use. The caves, located in Norway, serve as a key strategic storage site for the Marine Corps.

In August 2009, the Republic of Georgia joined forces with International Security Assistance Forces and ramped up a battalion of soldiers to aid the fight in Afghanistan. This marked the start of the Georgia Deployment Program. The first unit was the 31st Light Infantry Battalion, 32nd is serving in Helmand Province now and the 33rd is preparing to replace them.

Servicemembers of ten nations, including the United States, snapped to attention in formation on the parade ground here for the opening ceremonies of MEDCEUR 2010, a large-scale medical exercise for central and eastern Europe.

More than 100 servicemembers from U.S. Air Forces in Europe, U.S. Army Europe and Marine Forces Reserve arrived Sept. 7 in Podgorica, Montenegro to participate in this tenth annual Partnership for Peace Joint Chiefs of Staff-sponsored medical training exercise.

T'BILISI, Georgia — Marine Lt. Gen. Richard F. Natonski, Commander of Marine Forces Command; Brig. Gen. Paul W. Brier, Commander of U.S. Marine Forces Europe and U.S. Marine Forces Africa; and senior leadership from Marine Corps Training

TBILISI, Georgia — Lt. Gen. Richard F. Natonski, commander of Marine Forces Command, Brig. Gen. Paul W. Brier, commander of Marine Forces Europe and Marine Forces Africa, and senior leadership from Marine Corps Training and Advisory Group recently traveled here to participate

KRTSANISI NATIONAL TRAINING CENTER, Republic of Georgia -- A small detachment of Ramstein Airmen camp out in the foothills of Georgia's Caucasus Mountains, enclosed by snow capped peaks and kept company by stray dogs and roaming cattle. But what may sound like a wintertime camping excursion or a ski trip possibly gone awry, is actually a highly technical mission that involves providing a top-notch service to fellow warfighters.

KRTSANISI, Georgia - About half a kilometer away from two companies of Georgian soldiers lies the objective -- an old, run-down air traffic control tower. A cluster of off-white, weathered and tattered buildings, removed of all doors and windows, are the skeletal remains of Vasiani Air Base, a Russian-era military base about 15 miles east of Tbilisi that has been abandoned and unmaintained since the early 1990s. Inside the tower, hunkered down and fortified by opposing forces, sits trapped the objective -- a hostage who needs rescuing. He sits atop the four-floor building with insurgents bunkered in around him.

SOUDA BAY, Greece - Marines and sailors of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe are concluding a nearly month-long exercise here which demonstrated the ability to produce combat power from maritime pre-positioned shipping (MPS), and leaders and observers alike deemed it to be a successful evolution.

PRANJANI, Serbia -United States Marines, soldiers and airmen, along with members of the Serbian Armed Forces, stood on the hills here Aug. 10, 2009, honoring the local Serbs for their extraordinary sacrifice and heroism on the 65th anniversary of Operation Halyard.

BELLEAU, France - More than 300 Marines and sailors from commands throughout Europe and the United States, along with approximately 2,000 French locals, gathered at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery here for a Memorial Day ceremony May 24.