Air Force Brig. Gen. Michael Cunniff, New Jersey National Guard Adjutant General, talks about the benefits of the State Partnership Program between the New Jersey National Guard and Albania.

The mission in Afghanistan is changing and Army units are changing up their training scenarios to match. SGT Rebecca Schwab tells us how one unit's learning to step back and let someone else do the job.

I spent a great week in the busy and historic city of Tirana, Albania, with a New Jersey Army National Guard team executing the first Cyber Endeavor regional seminar of 2013.

The LOGEX 13 Final Coordination Conference and associated workshop was held in Tirana, at the Albanian Military Training Doctrine Center.

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.

Pvt. Jacob Pharr with the with the 1st Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment distinguishes himself during training at Immediate Response 2012. Immediate Response 12 is a multinational tactical field exercise that involves more than 700 personnel from the U.S. Army Europe's 2nd Cavalry Regiment and Croatian land forces, with elements from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Slovenia. Macedonia and Serbia have brought observers.

Pvt. Tonya Breznik of the Slovenian Armed Forces talks about the training going on during Immediate Response 2012 and how it relates to here experience serving in Afghanistan in support of the International Security Assistance Force there. Immediate Response 12 is a multinational tactical field exercise that involves more than 700 personnel from the U.S. Army Europe's 2nd Cavalry Regiment and Croatian land forces, with elements from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Slovenia. Macedonia and Serbia have brought observers.

The U.S. European Command ended the mid-planning conference for Combined Endeavor, its largest multinational communications interoperability exercise, today in Albania.

The week-long mid planning conference for exercise Combined Endeavor 2012 (CE12), U.S. European Command’s largest communications interoperability exercise, began today with more than 300 participants attending to continue the planning and testing for this year’s exercise.

EUCOM invested $170,000 to upgrade a kindergarten in Erseke, Albania.

An international maritime interdiction operations (MIO) team participating in Phoenix Express 2011 (PE-11) executed a boarding scenario June 10 that supported the aims of the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI).

The theme of this conference was “Empowering a Cyber Defense Workforce" and included over one hundred participants with 40 partner cyber defenders from 18 countries, NATO, and other international organizations. The cheer squad came from USEUCOM's components, DoD agencies and industry.

In the future we expect to do more regional projects for Albania and the Balkans by investing in Disaster Preparedness and Telemedicine, but I’m sure the occasional school renovations will remain on our schedule. There really is no better grass roots opportunity for us to reach out and impact the next generation.

In a ribbon cutting ceremony today in Kalivaç, Lezhë, a newly renovated school was officially opened for use by the region’s children. Attending the ceremony were Acting Deputy Chief of the U.S. Embassy, Paul Poletes, Chief of Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC) Albania, Major Kevin Bosch, U.S. Army European Command representative Lt. Col. Amy McCall and School Principal Drita Gjini.

Have you been to the beautiful mountainsides of Northern Albania? It was my first time to this land called Shqipëria, and as it is known by its inhabitants the "Land of the Mountain Eagle," hence the two-headed eagle on their uniquely distinguished national flag.

I spent the week of June 7-11 in Tirana, Albania, hosted by the US Defense Attaché and Office of Defense Cooperation. They invited me to help assess the need for the Albanians to establish a military chaplaincy as they anticipate the possibility of casualties from their combat mission in Afghanistan. Currently, their law prohibits religious expression in the military even though its permitted by law in the civilian population since 1991.

HOHENFELS, Germany – U.S. Army Europe’s Joint Multinational Readiness Center premiered its first NATO counter IED baseline course for ISAF partners.

DURRES, Albania — Enlisted members of the Albanian Armed Forces Non Commissioned Officers (NCO) Academy visited USS Taylor (FFG 50) June 17 as part of their professional development curriculum and cross cultural exposure to NATO allies.

TIRANA, Albania — Construction crews in Albania are busier than ever May 24 working on U.S.-funded humanitarian assistance projects that seek to improve educational and medical facilities in several isolated communities.

Construction crews in Albania are busier than ever working on U.S.-funded humanitarian assistance projects that seek to improve educational and facilities in several isolated communities in Albania.

VLORË, Albania —The USS John L. Hall (FFG 32) pulled into Vlorë, Albania, Mar. 22 to continue U.S. 6th Fleet efforts to build global maritime partnerships with European nations and improve maritime safety and security.

The University of Arizona, through the International Virtual e-Hospital Foundation founded and led by UA trauma surgeon Dr. Rifat Latifi, was awarded a $750,000 cooperative agreement from the U.S. Agency for International Development to establish a National Telemedicine Center in Albania.

In support of EUCOM’s efforts to do more interagency partnering, I found myself driving through the pouring rain out of Tirana, Albania to visit a remote hospital in Kukes. Kukes is one of 14 hospitals in Albania we would like to connect to the main Albanian hospital through telemedicine. This project would combine the efforts of USAID, an NGO and the DoD to link the hospitals by using the internet for training, counsel and a second opinion via a program like Skype. It will allow Albanian citizens with complex or rare medical conditions to receive high quality care from Albanian and potentially world-wide specialists. This is a major feat for a country with a poorly developed transportation system and difficult living conditions. Interagency team made up of: J4-Medical Readiness, Army Corps of Engineers, Regional Minister of Health of Kukes, University of Arizona, Tucson, director, Kukes Regional Hospital, J4-Humanitarian Assistance. (Photo by Tara Clark)

That’s a wrap as they say in Hollywood, or so I’ve heard.  Eighteen months of planning, training, and effort finished with the after action review.