Today, the Secretary of Defense announced that the President has nominated U.S. Army General Curtis M. Scaparrotti, to be the next Supreme Allied Commander Europe and Commander, U.S. European Command. NATO has also agreed to appoint Scaparrotti as Supreme Allied Commander, Europe. If confirmed by the Senate, Gen. Scaparrotti will succeed U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, who has held the position since May 2013.

Approximately 25 journalists dialed in for the call with Major General Allvin on Feb. 29, 2016. GEN Allvin took 12 questions from seven countries plus AFP on the array of ERI lines of effort, emphasizing the U.S. commitment to its allies and to strengthening military presence/capabilities across Europe. He made clear that Congress still needs to weigh in with respect to specific details about pre-positioning and infrastructure, but the goal is rapid response in areas that need support to counter potential adversary action. When asked specifically about Russia’s actions, he responded that he can’t speculate about Russian decision making, but we can take decisions based on the behavior we see. The dynamic new security environment requires a rapid response, and the ERI is intended to increase interoperability to that end.

Gen. Breedlove's DoD Press Brief. Mar. 01, 2016.

U.S. European Command transcript of General Breedlove's hearing with the House Armed Services Committee on Feb. 25, 2016.

25 Feb 2016 - Gen. Breedlove's hearing with the House Armed Services Committee in Washington D.C.

EUCOM Chief of Staff Maj Gen Mark Barrett discusses the importance of remembering Memorial Day with our European allies after the ceremony at Florence American Cemetery May 28, 2012.

I'm flying over the Caspian Sea, returning from three days in Afghanistan.  It was an eventful visit, my tenth over the past twenty months or so.

We just finished an excellent two-day meeting in Brussels with the 28 NATO Defense Ministers -- including, of course, my bosses Secretary of Defense Bob Gates and Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. The meeting focused on one expected challenge -- Afghanistan -- and one new issue, Libya.

The security situation in Helmand Province was significantly different this month than it was when I last visited in January 2010. I was especially struck by the continued improvement in the performance and size of the Afghan security forces down south. In 2010, there were roughly 10,000 ISAF servicemen and 2,000 ANSF in Helmand Province, roughly a 5:1 ratio. Today, there are 30,000 ISAF and 30,000 ANSF – a 1:1 ratio with Afghan forces increasingly in the lead. Afghan flags fly across the province, schools are open, bazaars are thriving. There is a sense of progress.

Last week, I had a good visit to Afghanistan -- three days, including a swing through Helmand in the south.

Now, what about that third question, the one regarding career risk? Quite the dilemma, at first blush. I’ve had two “career ending” moments in my 34 years in the Navy, both of which included a tragic, but thankfully incorrect, statement from a 3-star Admiral to a far junior me, “Stavridis, your career is over!” because I took the risk of articulating an idea in print. On the other hand, maybe somewhere along the way someone noticed something I wrote and thought, “Hmmm, maybe that junior officer is worth taking the time to meet with and talk to.” Some of the best career moments I’ve had came in that positive way – and there were many more of them than the negative.

I attended a fascinating event on Friday night in Ankara: the change of command ceremony for the Chief of the Turkish General Staff, the senior military officer in Turkey.

It’s been a busy couple of weeks since my last blog, including trips all over the NATO world. As regular followers of both US and NATO security interests, I’m sure you already know what a busy couple of weeks it has been.

Military chaplains from Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Canada, Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Italy, and the U.S. comprised the group that met at the Italian Air Force (ITAF) Headquarters for the annual NATO Air Force Chaplains Conference in Rome from June 13-18.

I’m new to EUCOM, new to Europe altogether, and I cannot imagine a better time of year: we just celebrated Memorial Day and the 66th Anniversary of D-Day is here. And I’m in Europe for all of it.

I'm flying over the deep blue of the southern Pacific Ocean -- enroute to New Zealand and Australia for security discussions about Afghanistan -- and I've just learned of the death of Polish General and Chief of Defense Franciszek Gagor, along with the President of Poland and much of the senior leadership.

WASHINGTON — Changes made to the way the Defense Department applies the law that bans gay men and lesbians from serving openly in the military means that officials will apply the law in a more fair and appropriate manner, the Pentagon's top lawyer said here March 26.

WASHINGTON — The Defense Department,s review on the potential impact of repealing the ban on gays serving openly in the military will solicit input from troops of every service and rank -- as well as their families -- through surveys, focus groups and social media tools, the team heading up the review told Congress March 3.

All of us at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe were saddened to learn of the passing of the seventh Supreme Allied Commander, General Alexander Haig.

I can’t tell you how pleased I am with the success of our 2009 State Partnership Program Conference. I heard nothing but great feedback about the conference from General McKinley and the Adjutants General who attended. While we have lots of work to do on the conference deliverables, I tip my hat to everyone who made the conference a success. It truly exceeded expectations.

We got off to a great start at the 2009 EUCOM State Partnership Program Conference. National Guard Bureau Chief, General McKinley, set the stage with his opening remarks about how SPP has matured over the past 15 years, but noted that we need to be "on a vector to make it better." That charge from the Chief opened the floor for some lively, honest and thought-provoking debate about how we at EUCOM, along with our 20 SPP TAGs (Adjutant Generals), and our Component Commands, can communicate and work better to improve the program. A take away for me and my staff is to find ways to bridge the communication gap between our TAGs and our Component Commands -- USAFE (United States Air Forces Europe) and USAREUR (United States Army Europe). The State Partnership Program is a tool of the EUCOM Commander's Theater Security Cooperation plan. It can and should be a multiplier for the component commands as well. We haven't done a great job making that happen. We're going to fix that.