General Curtis M. Scaparrotti is the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe as well as the Commander of U.S. European Command. He assumed command May 3, 2016.
Students from 10 European nations participated in the seventh iteration of the SOCEUR tactical intelligence course held at the Slovenian Ministry of Defense Training Facility. The STIC is designed to increase the intelligence, or intel, capabilities at the Special Operations Task Unit level for commissioned and non-commissioned officers.
Mark Pekala, U.S. Ambassador to Latvia, talks about the evolving Latvian armed forces mission in Afghanistan from intense combat, to training the Afghan armed forces, and determining what their role will be in Afghanistan post-2014.
Mark Pekala, U.S. Ambassador to Latvia, talks about transforming the primary mission of the Northern Distribution Network, or NDN, from moving food, fuel and supplies to the troops in Afghanistan into a commercial network dubbed the 'New Silk Road by the Latvians stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific as a basis for future economic development, trade and investments.
SOCEUR continues to focus on expanding theater-wide SOF capabilities in a manner that "thickens our lines” by training, developing, and enabling European SOF Allies and partners to deploy to Afghanistan as part of Combined Special Operations Task Force 10 (CSOTF-10), which serves under the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.
All the supplies that sustain our troops in Afghanistan don’t get there by magic. Food, uniform items, and construction supplies make a long journey to Afghanistan through the northern distribution network. Airman First Class Valerie Lloyd takes us to Riga, Latvia for more.
“Thank you for what you’re doing,” said Gen. Breedlove. “It’s working in Afghanistan and in other places. You are a part of that. The sacrifice of our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines is working and you should take pride in that.”
Given the challenges in Afghanistan, the progress that ISAF and their Afghan partners continue to make is monumental. This progress, however, is not widely reflected in much of the coverage we see about Afghanistan. In fact, most of the stories in the media highlight the instances of violence along with the dozens of other challenges ISAF, the ANSF and the people of Afghanistan face every day.
Hagel strongly emphasized the importance of the Netherlands as both a bilateral partner and North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally, and on behalf of the Department of Defense, reemphasized the commitment of the U.S. to the strong United States-Netherlands defense partnership.
After 12 years of war in Afghanistan – the longest war in American history – it’s easy to understand why many these days on both sides of the Atlantic would prefer to avoid any talk of new NATO expeditionary missions anytime soon, and to return to the so-called "core mission" of collective defense. But with all due respect to the title of this panel, I don’t see the concepts of collective defense and expeditionary missions as mutually exclusive, but rather as integral parts of one continuum.
What a voyage! Certainly I've had my fair share of challenges along the way but we have also had plenty of great successes (due largely to the hard work of those on my various teams), and a few tie scores as well.
As I look back over these past four years in particular, there were a number of solid accomplishments and a few stubborn difficulties -- but at the center of it all were wonderful human relationships.
During times of war units come and go. Ensuring the new unit takes over with a smooth handoff is vital to continuing a successful mission. SSG Jesse Dyer takes us to a transfer of authority ceremony at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, where one unit heads home just as another starts their deployment.
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.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Edwin Maldonado, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Charles Drafall and Capt. Aaron Becker had the opportunity to travel to Stara Zagora, Bulgaria, to mentor and instruct the 2nd Mechanized Brigade of the Bulgarian Army.
In Afghanistan I'm just flying towards Europe over the Black Sea, and the wind is blowing hard, creating white caps on the surface of that vast inland body of water.
I spent the early part of the week at the meeting of the NATO Defence Ministers at NATO Headquarters up in Brussels, about 45 minutes north of my operational command in Mons, Belgium. The second was with the NATO and additional troop contributing nations to our ongoing mission in Kosovo.
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.
With much formality, U.S. Army Garrison Grafenwoehr marked the official return of the 172nd Infantry "Blackhawk" Brigade from Afghanistan in an uncasing and remembrance ceremony, Aug. 9.
While I certainly sympathize with the thrust of John Kuehn's title in his energetic article about the situation in Afghanistan, I'd like to offer a somewhat different perspective from my position as the Supreme Allied Commander for all NATO operations, including the 140,000, 50-nation coalition in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan is always challenging. We continue to focus on the ongoing insurgency, the presence of terrorists across the border in Pakistan, and a persistent level of corruption.
Yet over the past few days, we've had a string of fairly positive developments.
Drawings and mural paintings line the walls of the French operations area on the flightline here - remembrances from every French Air Force group deployed to Kandahar Airfield over the last five years.
A squad of Latvian Army soldiers lays down small arms fire, while a US Stryker from the Pennsylvania National Guard works into position, over-watched by Soldiers from the 31 Canadian Brigade Group, and supported by mortar fire from the Unites States Marine Corps’ 4th Marine Division and A10s from the Michigan Air National Guard.
Soldiers of the 18th Engineer Brigade made their way home from Operation Enduring Freedom. Jerry Bryza takes us to Schwetzingen, Germany, for their homecoming.
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.
As the North Atlantic Council finished up the 25th Summit it is clearly evident that it was a summit of commitment. The Alliance made the commitment to complete transition in Afghanistan and to support Afghans in achieving a stable future. It also made the commitment to ensuring NATO is capable of dealing with 21st century challenges, as well as the commitment to further strengthen connections with our global partners. Most importantly, the Chicago Summit demonstrated our commitment to each other - the unbreakable bond between North America and Europe, which remains the bedrock of our security.
The American Admiral praised the Europeans for their engagement in the Hindu Kush. But to remain militarily important, they will have to increase their defense spending.
And in his last interview before the NATO Summit begins in Chicago Sunday, Admiral Stavridis promised that the (American) partnership with Europe will remain strong.
Shoving a helicopter into the belly of a C-17 Globemaster is not an easy task, especially when the helo belongs to a partner nation. SSgt Lana Mills takes us to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, for the details.
After a year-long deployment, nothing feels as good as being in the loving arms of family. The 172nd Infantry Brigade recently returned from Afghanistan. SGT Chris Jackson, in Grafenwoehr, Germany, tells us just what they came home to.
President Obama addresses the nation from Afghanistan after signing a historic agreement between the United States and Afghanistan that defines a new kind of relationship between our countries -- a future in which Afghans are responsible for the security of their nation, we build an equal partnership between two sovereign states, and a future in which the war ends, and a new chapter begins.
Service members have a knack for overcoming and adapting. SSgt Nathan Parry tells us how 250 Marines handled training Georgian Soldiers during exercise "Agile Spirit 2012". It meant overcoming the language barrier and a few snags courtesy of "Mother Nature."
The U.S. State Department presented a Polish admiral and graduate of the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies with an American military medal March 22.
It’s no secret that deployments are tough on service members and their families. The homecomings, however, are always looked forward to. We head to Hohenfels, Germany, where Soldiers are returning to their loved ones after a year in Afghanistan.
U.S. Army Special Forces Soldiers assigned to 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) and Hungarian Special Operations Forces gathered to pay solemn tribute to Master Sgt. Danial ‘Slim’ Adams as the SF camp was dedicated and named in his honor.