Fleet Master Chief Petty Officer Roy M. Maddocks, Jr. spoke with more than 100 students of the sixth class at the Sergeants Major Academy April 3, 2013. He also participated in discussions on NCO and SNCO professional development and met with senior enlisted leaders of the Turkish military services. The command senior enlisted leader for European Command was here as part of a counterpart visit with the Senior Enlisted Leader of the Turkish General Staff Harun Ağpak.
I spent a fascinating day in Kosovo last week, visiting as the NATO Commander just a few days before Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived to represent ongoing US support for Kosovo. In a phrase: What a difference a decade makes.I met with the clergy at Zociste Monastery in Southern Kosovo.
Two weeks ago, I jumped on a flight headed for Croatia to participate in special operations forces (SOF) Exercise Jackal Stone 2009. Although the name sounds strange (you’ve got to love how the military often throws two completely unrelated words together to name training exercises), the purpose of the exercise is quite ambitious: to promote cooperation and interoperability between the 11 participating nations. Significant is the fact that the Croatian government is hosting its first major military exercise since accession as a NATO member nation earlier this year, and that they chose to host a special operations exercise. To me, it shows the importance that the Croatians place on special operations and the value they place on increasing international military partnerships.