Category: Africa

Source: United States EUROPEAN COMMAND

U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Steven Basham, the U.S. European Command deputy commander, hosted a delegation of military officials from Armenia at EUCOM’s headquarters on Nov. 3. 

The Armenian delegation was led by Chief of the General Staff of the Republic of Armenia Armed Forces Lt. Gen. Edvard Asryan.

Discussions focused on Armenia’s security environment, defense reforms and the defense cooperation with the United States.

“We were honored to host Lt. Gen. Asryan and his team. We learned a lot from one another,” Basham said. “This was a milestone event as we deliberately and incrementally develop our defense relationship.”  

The Armenian delegation began their visit to Germany with a tour at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels to observe training activities. They also met with the Non-Commissioned Officer Academy as part of their aims to further develop the Armenian military’s NCO corps.

“Armenian armed forces are currently undergoing significant reforms and transformation and we are interested in receiving support and learning about the best practices from our partners, and especially the United States.” Asryan said. “These discussions lay the foundation to plan and conduct future combined training with U.S. European Command as we aim to advance our military’s ability to respond to changes in a dynamic and complex environment.”  

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About USEUCOM

U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) is responsible for U.S. military operations across Europe, portions of Asia and the Middle East, the Arctic and Atlantic Ocean. USEUCOM is comprised of more than 65,000 permanent military personnel supported by rotational forces and DoD civilians working closely with NATO Allies and partners. The command is one of two U.S. forward-deployed geographic combatant commands headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. For more information about USEUCOM, visit www.eucom.mil.

Source: United States EUROPEAN COMMAND

U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancers from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, currently deployed to RAF Fairford in the United Kingdom for Bomber Task Force 24-1, performed the first-ever hot-pit refueling at Incirlik Air Base, Türkiye, Tuesday.

Hot-pit refueling, a practice in which a plane is refueled while its engines are running, allows an aircraft to reduce time spent on the ground and get back in the air faster.

By honing hot-pit refueling procedures and leveraging the advantages it offers, the U.S. and its Allies fortify their combat readiness across the European theater. This notable event marks the first B-1 hot-pit refueling in Türkiye and underscores the strong ties between the U.S. and Türkiye in the NATO Alliance.

Before the aircraft touched down at Incirlik, the aircraft integrated in training missions with Turkish Joint Terminal Attack Controllers and conducted close air support training with Turkish F-16 Fighting Falcons.

The intent of these long-planned bomber task force missions is to demonstrate the U.S.’s readiness to support geographic combatant command objectives and showcase the nation’s ability to project U.S. airpower around the globe.  

Source: United States EUROPEAN COMMAND

U.S. European Command Vice Director for Partnership, Security Cooperation and Space Capability British Brig. Leigh R. Tingey hosted a military academic delegation from NATO’s newest member state Oct. 19, 2023, at EUCOM headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany.

Finnish Defence Forces Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategy Lt. Gen. Janne Jaakkola and 27 senior Finnish military leaders attending the nation’s High Command Course visited and familiarized themselves with both EUCOM and NATO Supreme Headquarters Allies Powers in Europe (SHAPE) in Mons, Belgium, as part of the study trip. 

Presentations and discussions were designed to optimize interoperability, strengthen the bilateral strategic relationship and build a positive frame of reference for future interactions between the Finnish Defence Forces and EUCOM.

“This is the perfect capstone to our High Command Course,” Jaakola said. “The visit to SHAPE and EUCOM gives strategic context to our senior leaders responsible for national and collective defense.”

The discussions focused on defense cooperation, activities like operations and exercises, military training, and resourcing. Designed to enable Finland’s senior military leaders to be key decision makers in current and future roles, the visit also strengthened the collective resolve between the two nations to support multinational goals across Europe as part of NATO’s collective defense.

“Our shared values and commitment to collective defense unite our two nations, along with 29 other NATO member states on both sides of the Atlantic,” Tingey said. “This Alliance embodies this transatlantic bond through which the security of NATO Allies in Europe and North America is inextricably linked.”

Finland became an official member of NATO on April 4, 2023. With its full accession, the nation committed to not only contributing to Europe’s collective defense, but also helping to uphold NATO’s common values of individual liberty, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. 

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U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) is responsible for U.S. military operations across Europe, portions of Asia and the Middle East, the Arctic and Atlantic Ocean. USEUCOM is comprised of more than 64,000 military and civilian personnel and works closely with NATO Allies and partners. The command is one of two U.S. forward-deployed geographic combatant commands headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. For more information about USEUCOM, visit www.eucom.mil. 

Source: United States EUROPEAN COMMAND

Gen. Christopher Cavoli, commander of U.S. European Command, met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Germany, Dec. 14, 2023.

Gen. Cavoli and President Zelenskyy discussed continued U.S. support to meet Ukraine’s most urgent requirements, including the provision of the 53rd Presidential Drawdown package announced this week by President Biden.

The two also discussed ongoing U.S. and international efforts to train the Ukrainian Armed Forces. President Zelenskyy also met with multinational representatives from some of the 50 nations who continue to provide assistance to Ukraine. Through the strong and strategic relationships established in support of Ukraine, the U.S. and international community continue to support Ukraine’s fight to preserve its sovereignty and ability to protect Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure.

Source: United States EUROPEAN COMMAND

U.S. European Command participated in NATO’s annual Cyber Coalition exercise, which hosted 35 participant countries, the largest number to date, from Nov. 27 to Dec. 1.

Cyber Coalition 2023 expanded on lessons learned from previous exercises, emphasizing coordination and collaboration among EUCOM, participating Allies and partners under NATO’s oversight. The exercise’s main focus was to simulate responses to cyber threats and enhance our cyber defense posture. This involved testing NATO’s capability to request cyberspace operations resources and the capacity of exercise participants to deliver them.

“We use technical challenges to trigger the coordination and collaboration within and between our military and civilian cyberspace stakeholders,” said U.S. Navy Cmdr. Charles Elliott, Cyber Coalition exercise director. “The considerable number of participating Allies and partners increases the exercise complexity helping us to better identify capability gaps and comprehensively test new cyberspace operations procedures.”

The annual exercise was conducted from Tallinn, Estonia, a leading NATO Ally known for its extensive digitization efforts throughout its nation and functioned as the central command and control center. All participating countries participated in the training remotely. Exercise activities included training on the application of international law in cyberspace, validating cyberspace warfare development products and experimenting with new tools.

“Consistently working with our NATO Allies and partners to identify vulnerabilities on their government-operated networks aids in our own cyberspace preparedness through enhanced information-sharing relationships,” said U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. James Cleet, EUCOM deputy director of operations. “These exercises provide us a comprehensive opportunity to bolster collective cyberspace capabilities and are foundational to our overall security commitment to the NATO Alliance and global partners.”

Another key U.S. participant included the 16th Air Force (Air Forces Cyber) providing exercise planning and execution support. Sixteenth Air Force was created to seize and maintain the initiative in the information environment, especially the cyber domain and regularly participates in global cyber and information warfare exercises to prepare for crisis and conflict.  

“This fantastic opportunity allowed us to collaborate, share and effectively integrate cyber security capabilities. We successfully operated across four time zones, assessed each other’s capabilities, and strengthened our great relationships with NATO allies and partners,” said Candace Sanchez,16th Air Force senior joint cyber exercise planner. 

The insights garnered from the Cyber Coalition 2023 exercise, including observations, in-depth analysis, and valuable feedback, play a pivotal role in shaping the trajectory of future doctrine development, capability enhancements and informed decision-making processes.

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About USEUCOM

U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) is responsible for U.S. military operations across Europe, portions of Asia and the Middle East, the Arctic and Atlantic Ocean. USEUCOM is comprised of more than 65,000 permanent military personnel supported by rotational forces and DoD civilians working closely with NATO Allies and partners. The command is one of two U.S. forward-deployed geographic combatant commands headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. For more information about USEUCOM, visit www.eucom.mil.

Source: United States EUROPEAN COMMAND

U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Steven Basham, deputy commander, U.S. European Command, hosted Secretary General of the Austrian Ministry of Defense, Dr. Arnold Kammel, and members of Kammel’s staff at the command’s headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, on Nov. 30, 2023.

The meeting, aimed at identifying areas for future military cooperation, builds on a broadening relationship after Austria and the Vermont National Guard formalized their partnership under the State Partnership Program in 2022.

“Today’s meeting was another important step toward strengthening our relationship with a long-standing partner in Austria,” said Basham. “Our strategic partnership with Austria already includes cooperation for military mobility, information exchanges and military-to-military engagements through the State Partnership Program. We look forward to furthering our mutual commitment to realize a shared vision for European security.”

The two nations’ military-to-military engagement has steadily increased since partnering via the State Partnership Program, including an air exchange in June in which the Vermont Air National Guard flew F-35s alongside Austrian Eurofighter Typhoons at Hinterstoisser Air Base near Zeltweg, Austria.

“Relations with the USA are of particular importance to Austria. The deepening of the strategic partnership with the USA, anchored in the Austrian government program and the growing State Partnership Program, underline this fact,” said Kammel. “As one of the key players in global security and defense policy, the USA is also relevant for Austria in other areas. Today’s talks mark a further point in the strengthening of joint cooperation.”

The long-standing cooperation between the U.S. and Austria has also included participation in the EU’s Permanent Structured Cooperation program, which aims to enable movement of military personnel and assets within the borders of the EU. That intra-European movement is pivotal to the U.S.’ ability to successfully conduct military exercises and operations.

The State Partnership Program pairs U.S. National Guard units with Allied and partner militaries within the USEUCOM area of responsibility to facilitate cooperation across all aspects of international civil-military affairs.

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About USEUCOM

U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) is responsible for U.S. military operations across Europe, portions of Asia and the Middle East, the Arctic and Atlantic Ocean. USEUCOM is comprised of more than 65,000 permanent military personnel supported by rotational forces and DoD civilians working closely with NATO Allies and partners. As no nation can confront today’s challenges alone, U.S. European Command is committed to preserving the mutual commitment, support and trust we share with our Allies and partners. The command is one of two U.S. forward-deployed geographic combatant commands headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. For more information about USEUCOM, visit www.eucom.mil.