​THEATER SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND - SOCEUR

COMMANDER - U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Mark Schwartz

SENIOR ENLISTED ADVISOR - Master Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Andrew I. Harrison

MISSION

SOCEUR employs Special Operations Forces across the USEUCOM area of responsibility to enable deterrence, strengthen European security collective capabilities and interoperability, and counter transnational threats to protect U.S. personnel and interests.

COMMAND VISION

SOCEUR will integrate with the USEUCOM components and the Interagency to achieve USEUCOM theater objectives. SOCEUR will preserve its distinct theater operational response capability through a culture of readiness, decentralized mission command, and empowered tactical operators. The priorities for SOF operational employment are to gain and maintain persistent access to areas of potential conflict and violent extremist organizations areas of operations, to enable preparation of the environment tasks in support of USEUCOM OPLANs and CONPLANs, while assuring our European Allies and partners of U.S. commitments to bilateral and NATO obligations.

AREA FOCUS

SOCEUR’s area of responsibility is derived from USEUCOM’s area of responsibility, consisting of 51 independent countries that extend from Greenland east through the European continent and all of Russia and south of the continent to include the Mediterranean Sea, south to the Caucus region and Israel. Within USEUCOM’s area of responsibility, SOCEUR’s principle area of focus is to defend NATO on USEUCOM’s eastern flank. SOCEUR’s other key focus area is combatting terrorism in USEUCOM’s southern flank.

MAJOR ENGAGEMENT

Jackal Stone is an annual Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff-directed Special Operations Forces exercise coordinated by SOCEUR with participating SOF and support enablers from varying partner countries throughout Europe. SOCEUR is fully integrated into Operation Atlantic Resolve and NATO Enhanced Forward Presence.