I started last week in Lisbon, on the heels of a trip to Stuttgart the previous Friday for staff briefings at European Command (EUCOM) and EUCOM’s Annual Summer Reception, which included a spectacular concert with an Elvis Presley impersonator in full U.S. Army regalia! 

Handing the colours to Lt Gen Philippe Stoltz

I was in Lisbon for a significant event: the change of command of the major NATO Headquarters there, where a senior French officer took command of a key NATO military post.  I was very proud to officiate and speak, along with the Portuguese Minister of Defence, Nuno Severiano Teixeira, as Lieutenant General Phillipe Stoltz, a French Army 3-star, proudly took command.  Over some good Portuguese wine in the officer’s mess later, I was able to personally welcome Phillipe.  I said, “C’est un jour important pour France, mais c’est un jour magnifique pour notre l’Alliance.” (It is an important day for France, but it is a magnificent day for our alliance).   I also visited an innovative organization: the Maritime Analysis and Operations Center.  This small group with representatives from seven European nations is focused on counter-narcotics from their operations center in Lisbon.   Comparable to the U.S. Joint Interagency Task Force South in Key West (with whom they frequently collaborate), they seek to coordinate the law enforcement efforts of European nations to stem the flow of into the continent drugs (estimated by JIATFS to be in the region of 550+ tons of cocaine annually, for example).  Headed up by an exuberant Brit, Tim Manhire, they have shown much success and I hope to partner with them under my European Command hat in interagency and international counter-narcotic work. more…

 

 

The NATO Sea Day – held only once every two years – was an unqualified success.  The object is to bring to sea the key decision makers in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization:  the Secretary General and his Deputy; the entire Permanent Representatives from NATO’s decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council (all 28 nations of course have an ambassador-rank official assigned to Brussels); the Military Committee (each Chief of Defense – those of us from the U.S. would say Chairman of the Joint Chiefs – is a member, and each has a full-time, very senior representative in Brussels); and key personnel from the operational staff, i.e. Allied Command Operations / Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe.
We flew largely as a group from Brussels to the beautiful Spanish Naval Base at Rota, Spain, just across the bay from historic Cádiz, from which so many expeditions were launched from Europe to the New World.  As I saw the sparkling water of the mid-Atlantic from the plane, I could not help but think of the power and importance of that trans-Atlantic link, reflected in the bridge of the deep blue ocean.
In Spain, I had a chance to meet the impressive Minister of Defense of Spain, Carme Chacón, who also had a meeting with the Secretary General, my good friend and NATO boss, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.  The Secretary General is wrapping up an exceptionally successful five plus years as the leader of the Alliance, and it was good to see him.  After our meetings with the Spanish senior civilian leadership, we all manned up five different NATO ships and got underway.
The squadron was composed of ships from Portugal (the Corte Real, the flagship of the maritime group), Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and the U.S.  We divided our party of more than 60 people into groups and set sail on a perfect summer’s day in the Mediterranean.  Each ship conducted a series of demonstrations for the visitors, including gunnery, close maneuver, special operations, and particularly anti-piracy.  This NATO squadron has just returned from a long deployment to the Horn of Africa, where they successfully conducted anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden.  Their work was a welcome complement to the European Union efforts of a similar ilk, Operation Atalanta.  Learning how to balance NATO and EU efforts operationally is something I am keenly interested in and will focus on in the time ahead. more…

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I settle into a rhythm as both SACEUR and EUCOM Commander, it’s a good time to reflect on what kind of organization I want to lead.

Several qualities have worked well for me as touchstones in the past – from my earliest days in the Navy – and I pass them along as a pretty good way to do business.

The first is an old-fashioned word: civility.  I find so often in this accelerating 21st century, we are losing our capacity for politeness, for kindness, for genuine concern about the quality of our interactions.  In this busy world, the “insulation is off the wires” of so many people – don’t be one of them.  Take the time to treat everyone you meet – from the most junior to the most senior – in a polite and civil way.

I’m also a big believer in creativity.  This 21st century is complex – at times it feels like we are reading Shakespeare by lightning, with only a few phrases illuminated to show us the way.  If we are going to “fill in the gaps,” we need creative minds that can deal boldly with new ideas and change. One of the respondents to my recent post on “the Transatlantic Bridge” was Turkish; he pointed out that we must all strive to be “bridges” to new ideas as well as geographic bridges – what a superb point.

Determination matters, too.  All of us are going to make mistakes – I do constantly.  The measure of any person or any organization is not perfection, which is unattainable; the measure is how determined you are to come back from your mistakes, correct them, learn from them and move forward with a new and better approach.  Remember, your teammates are watching, and how you react matters, no matter where you are in our organizations.

I like people with quiet confidence.  I often think of the athlete Roger Federer, this year’s Wimbledon champ, who was the world’s number one player for five straight years and for the same five years won the peer-voted award as the best sportsman.  He is quiet, understated, and calm under pressure.  That’s a pretty good approach, even if we can’t hit a topspin backhand like he does!

Teamwork is crucial.  No one of us is as smart as all of us thinking together – and no one nation is as capable as the international community working together.  My approach is to emphasize international, interagency, and private-public thinking – all team sports.
 

What underpins all of this is honesty and integrity.  At the US Naval Academy a long time ago, I learned not to lie, cheat, or steal.  Those are pretty good rules for anyone – and the basis for a solid moral code as well.  If we are honest with each other, and always maintain our integrity, nothing we do will every truly fail.

Yesterday I went to sea on board the aircraft carrier USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (CVN 69) – named for the first and best SACEUR in history – which is currently in the Mediterranean Sea and heading back home after a successful combat deployment in the Arabian Gulf.  What an honor – I’ll write about it next week!