The J9 Directorate embodies a “whole of society” approach, bringing in a wide range of perspectives by integrating U.S. and nongovernmental agencies, academic institutions, international organizations, and private-sector partners to better execute EUCOM operations.

Located Garmish, Germany, the Marshall Center's College of International and Security Studies and Outreach Programs directorate conducts a variety of unique programs involving officials from more than 110 countries. The center staff teaches most programs in three languages: English, German and Russian

U.S. European Command hosted an Industry Collaboration day led by the command's Interagency Partnering Directorate to understand how to better work with non-Department of Defense mission partners. The goals of the event were to develop ideas together, find out what opportunities there might be and how they could carry that work forward into the future.

Mr. Mike Ryan, US EUCOM ECJ9 Director, explains how interagency partners help the military to focus on the next security frontier.

Mr. Mike Ryan, US EUCOM ECJ9 Director, explains how interagency partners help the military to focus on the next security frontier.

Safety plays an essential role in the overall stability of Europe. Ambassador Lawrence Butler, civilian deputy to the EUCOM commander and foreign policy advisor tells us how EUCOM and it’s partners serve the European community.

Operating in an environment containing many cultures presents unique challenges for the military. Ambassador Lawrence Butler, civilian deputy to the EUCOM commander and foreign policy advisor explains how DOD civilians help bridge the gap between the military and the surrounding populous.

Amb. Larry Butler, EUCOM Civilian Deputy to the Commander and Foreign Policy Advisor, talks to AFN about the Interagency role at EUCOM

In this episode of EUCOMversations, Mr. Mike Ryan, the EUCOM J9 Interagency Partnering Director, discusses "exit strategies" and how working with other government and non-government organizations helps the military do its job.

This is the first iteration of a series we're beginning here at EUCOM to let you know what we're doing. What do each of our directorates do? What is the focus of US European Command? Watch this to learn about the wide array of projects the J4 Logistics Directorate is heading.

Mr. Peter Strasser, the EUCOM liaison for the Department of Justice's Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training, recently conducted an informal discussion and Q & A to provide EUCOM staffers the opportunity to learn about OPDAT programs specific to the Balkans, Caucasus and Black Sea areas. OPDAT efforts include programs in counterterrorism, anti-corruption, narcotics trafficking and justice sector development, just to name a few. He took a few moments afterward to provide us with this vlog.

Mr. Peter Strasser, the EUCOM liaison for the Department of Justice's Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training, recently conducted an informal discussion and Q & A to provide EUCOM staffers the opportunity to learn about OPDAT programs

Prevention of smuggling, cyber crime and more took focus during a four-day conference in Antalya, Turkey, Dec. 7-9 featuring two experts from the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies.

J9 has a variety of mission responsibilities; collaboration with U.S. agency partners, cooperation with international partners, championing interaction with the private sector and academia on behalf of the command, and assessing the resilience of the command’s critical infrastructure here in Europe.

“Naeher am Menschen” is the motto of Germany’s political party, the CSU, or Christian Socialist Union. This is one of the three coalition partner parties (CDU, CSU, and FDP) that comprise the German federal government. The state government of Bavaria, Germany’s economic locomotive and wealthiest state, is run by the CSU party. Thomas Kreuzer has been a member of the CSU since becoming a City Councilman in his hometown of Kempten, Bavaria in 1984. He is still a City Councilman, but today he is also the State Minister of the Bavarian State Chancellery.

I couldn’t help but contrast the battlefield with my classroom setting of federal executives debating today’s contentious national policy issues.

As the Arctic climate continues to change, Arctic area nations are working together to address security concerns.

As we wrap up high summer, it's a sensible time to look ahead at the fall and think about the big tasks facing the NATO Alliance and US European Command. The Olympics and the Jubilee fade to memory, and hopefully most folks have managed to break away for a short vacation to recharge. The autumn will be a busy time.

Imagine a global security driven by collaboration -- among agencies, government, the private sector and the public. That's not just the distant hope of open-source fans, it's the vision of James Stavridis, the Supreme Commander of NATO, who shares vivid moments from recent military history to explain why security of the future should be built with bridges rather than walls. TedTalks

Three U.S. combatant commands and 48 alumni of the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies gathered to develop a common understanding about security issues posed by drug smuggling and other illicit trafficking June 18-21.

Months of planning, coordination and hard work draws to a successful conclusion as participants of the command post exercise portion of Saber Strike 2012 conclude the simulated combat operations.

Footage taken during the first week of Immediate Response 2012 (IR12) training event held in Slunj, Croatia from May 26 thru June 10, 2012. IR12 is a multinational tactical field training exercise that will involve more than 700 personnel primarily from the U.S. Army Europe's 2nd Cavalry Regiment and Croatian armed forces, with contingents from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Slovenia. Macedonia and Serbia will send observers to the exercise.

As Shared Resilience 2012 comes to an end in Bosnia-Herzegovina, civilian and military medical professionals test their skills that they trained on during the 2 week exercise.

Hurricanes, floods, volcano eruptions and other disasters do not wait for humans to get up to speed.

Francois Bellon, the Head of Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross to both the EU and NATO, visted the command last week, the first senior ICRC visit to EUCOM in nearly two decades.

In the world of security, we are generally focused on "risk." We worry about the chances of war, the spread of weapons of mass destruction, the likelihood of a ballistic missile attack, or the possibility of a biologic contagion. Understanding risk allows us to calculate how much we should spend on defense compared to what our potential opponents are spending.

As I followed the Final Four I was reminded that there were four common requirements necessary both for this basketball tournament and for interagency partnering, my line of work at US European Command (EUCOM).