(From left to right) U.S. Army Pfc. Timmey Turner, U.S. Army Spc. Jimmy Martin and U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jason Pionke, assigned to the 375th Engineer Company, 467th Engineer Battalion, 926th Engineer Brigade, 412th Theater Engineer Command, assist with constructing a fence during a Humanitarian Civil Assistance (HCA) project, in Sauliai, Lithuania, August 18, 2016. As part of the European Command’s (EUCOM) Humanitarian and Civic Assistance Program, the 375th Engineer Company, 457th Civil Affairs Battalion and the Lithuanian military collaborate to renovate the fence at Kudikiu Namai, an orphanage for Lithuanian children up to the age of 6, in Sauliai, Lithuania, August 8-26, 2016. (U.S. Army Photo by Pfc. Emily Houdershieldt)

Staff Sgt. Amanda Turnwald, 127th Civil Engineering Squadron engineering assistant, marks a measurement on a piece of rock wool insulation at a kindergarten in Silmala, Latvia on June 23, 2016. The school is currently undergoing a Humanitarian-civic assistance project to provide the school with up to date renovations. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Ryan Zeski)

Corporal Anders Bukovskis, Latvian National Armed Forces and Staff Sgt. Jarriel Brown, 127th Civil Engineering Squadron electrical journeymen, work on renovations for a kindergarten in Silmala, Latvia on June 18, 2016. The school’s renovations are part of a Humanitarian-Civic Assistance project. The project provides training opportunities for the United States and Latvian soldiers as well as a benefit for the local community. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Ryan Zeski)

Tech. Sgt. Ken Wilson, 127th Civil Engineering Squadron HVAC supervisor and Staff Sgt. Jared Brunsen, 127th CES HVAC expert, cut sheet plastic at a kindergarten in Silmala, Latvia on June 18, 2016. The school’s renovations are part of a Humanitarian-Civic Assistance project. The project provides training opportunities for the United States and Latvian soldiers as well as a benefit for the local community. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Ryan Zeski)

An overall view of the kindergarten in Silmala, Latvia that is currently undergoing renovations on June 18, 2016. The school’s renovations are part of a Humanitarian-Civic Assistance project. The project provides training opportunities for the United States and Latvian soldiers as well as a benefit for the local community. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Ryan Zeski)

Private First Class Rihards Rudzitis, Latvian National Armed Forces, works on the side of a kindergarten building in Silmala, Latvia on June 19, 2016. The school is undergoing construction as part of the U.S. European Command’s Humanitarian Civic-Assistance project. United States and Latvian military engineers are working together to complete the project. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Ryan Zeski)

Staff Sgt. Amanda Turnwald, 127th Civil Engineering Squadron engineering assistant, marks a measurement on a piece of rock wool insulation at a kindergarten in Silmala, Latvia on June 23, 2016. The school is currently undergoing a Humanitarian-civic assistance project to provide the school with up to date renovations. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Ryan Zeski)

Tech. Sgt. Derek Leppek, 127th Civil Engineering Squadron structures supervisor, cuts into the concrete around a window of a kindergarten school in Silmala, Latvia on June 19, 2016. The school is undergoing construction as part of the U.S. European Command’s Humanitarian Civic-Assistance project. United States and Latvian military engineers are working together to complete the project. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Ryan Zeski)

Staff Sgt. John Martin, 127th Civil Engineering Squadron pavements and construction supervisor and Tech. Sgt. Ed Hirth, 127th CES firefighter, apply a mud adhesive to rock wool insulation at a kindergarten in Silmala, Latvia on June 23, 2016. The school is currently undergoing a Humanitarian-civic assistance project to provide the school with up to date renovations. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Ryan Zeski)

Col. Cynthia Matuskevich, Office of Defense Cooperation chief, signs a property transfer letter during a ceremony at School #16 April 27, 2015. The school received office furniture, such as desks, tables and chairs, donated by U.S. Department of Defense, European Command (EUCOM) in cooperation with the Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and Ukraine. The property transfer coordination began in 2012 at EUCOM to provide infrastructure improvement for the school, which is attended by nearly 1,200 students. (U.S. European Command photo by Master Sgt. Charles D. Larkin Sr./RELEASED)

Col. John Mitchell, U.S. European Command surgeon general, receives a ceremonial gift of bread during the start of a ceremony at School #16 April 27, 2015. The school received office furniture, such as desks, tables and chairs donated by U.S. Department of Defense, European Command (EUCOM) in cooperation with the Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and Ukraine. The property transfer coordination began in 2012 at EUCOM to provide infrastructure improvement for the school, which is attended by nearly 1,200 students. (U.S. European Command photo by Master Sgt. Charles D. Larkin Sr./RELEASED)

Geoffrey Pyatt, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine speaks at an inauguration ceremony for the Vinnytsia Community Education Center April 27, 2015. The center was previously an unoccupied building which was renovated by U.S. European Command (EUCOM) in cooperation with the Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and local Ukrainian government and non-goverment agencies. The project coordination began in 2012 by local non-government organizations working to provide education, training and protection to socially vulnerable sectors of the community to prevent human trafficking. (U.S. European Command photo by Master Sgt. Charles D. Larkin Sr./RELEASED)

Recent media speculation has questioned the cancellation of humanitarian assistance projects in Crimea. The school and hospital renovation projects in question were part of EUCOM’s HA program and would have been solely for the benefit of the local school children and community. Rumors that these projects were an attempt to establish a U.S. military base in the region are patently false.

PODGORICA, Montenegro -- Spc. Monique Bumstead a crew chief from U.S. Army Europe’s 1st Battalion 214th Aviation Regiment, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, works with her Montenegrin partners to load Red Cross supplies for a humanitarian relief mission Feb. 22. The Soldiers are part of the U.S. task force sent to provide humanitarian assistance at request of the government of Montenegro coordinating with the National Emergency Operations Center and the Montenegrin Ministry of Defense to provide relief and to save lives, homes and infrastructure in response to heavy snowfall.

U.S. Army Europe and U.S. Air Force in Europe assisted the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) with the delivery of helicopter equipment, petroleum, lubricant and oil to Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Feb. 12.

An aircrew assigned to Patrol Squadron 47, operating from Naval Air Station Sigonella, Sicily, sprang into action to help rescue 68 people adrift on a powerless raft in the Mediterranean Sea, Jan. 15, more than 80 miles from the southwest coast of Malta.

NAPLES, Italy (Jan. 15, 2012) -- The crew of a U.S. Navy P3 maritime patrol aircraft assigned to Patrol Squadron 47, operating from Naval Air Station Sigonella, Sicily, assisted approximately 68 Somali migrants off the Maltese coast. The P-C crew provided a "SAR kit"containing water, food, and flashlights; contacted Maltese Search and Rescue coordinators; and hailed nearby vessels to lend further assistance. The Panamanian-flagged, M/V Verona, rescued the 65 people, and then turned them over to a Maltese Patrol vessel.

NAPLES, Italy (Jan. 15, 2012) -- The crew of a U.S. Navy P3 maritime patrol aircraft assigned to Patrol Squadron 47, operating from Naval Air Station Sigonella, Sicily, assisted approximately 68 Somali migrants off the Maltese coast. The P-C crew provided a "SAR kit"containing water, food, and flashlights; contacted Maltese Search and Rescue coordinators; and hailed nearby vessels to lend further assistance.The Panamanian-flagged, M/V Verona, rescued the 65 people, and then turned them over to a Maltese Patrol vessel.

NAPLES, Italy (Jan. 15, 2012) -- The crew of a U.S. Navy P3 maritime patrol aircraft assigned to Patrol Squadron 47, operating from Naval Air Station Sigonella, Sicily, assisted approximately 68 Somali migrants off the Maltese coast. The P-C crew provided a "SAR kit"containing water, food, and flashlights; contacted Maltese Search and Rescue coordinators; and hailed nearby vessels to lend further assistance.The Panamanian-flagged, M/V Verona, rescued the 65 people, and then turned them over to a Maltese Patrol vessel.

EUCOM's mission is to support and enable the Alliance and its operations while emphasizing integration and leader development.

Lieutenant Col. David Galles (third from right), Bulgaria Office of Defense Cooperation Chief, and Ms. Veska Maradzhieva (fourth from left), director, Day Center for Children with Disabilities and Day Center for Adults with Disabilities, mark the inauguration of a U.S. European Command-funded renovation of the center in Kazanlak by cutting a ribbon at the entrance March 24, 2014. The U.S. Government invested a total of $132,300 in this project under the Department of Defense's Humanitarian Assistance program. The completely renovated Center for Adults, collocated with a kindergarten for disabled children, accommodates a therapy room, psychological and social counseling spaces, a kitchen for developing useful culinary skills and a playground with specialized equipment. The facility will provide an environment to improve the lives of adults suffering from mental and physical impediments by aiding them in the development of various social skills for independent life.

The United States Embassy in Zagreb formally presented the Knin Hospital with two new incubators for neonatal care and other medical supplies on Dec. 15, 2010. The donation is sponsored by the United States European Command in Stuttgart, Germany. Additionally, in the summer of 2009, United States Air Forces Europe engineers, working in close cooperation with the Croatian military engineers of the Motorized Brigade, headquartered in Knin, helped to refurbish parts of the children's wing of the Hospital, replace radiators throughout the Hospital and repair the ventilation system. The value of this assistance was $500,000.

VENTSPILS, Latvia -- Latvia's Fire and Rescue Services were helped recently when a newly renovated fire training tower was opened in Latvia May 26.