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.

After an initial couple of hours on the frigates, we all flew helicopters to the aircraft carrier USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (CVN 69).  As the current SACEUR, it was a nice feeling to touch down on the massive U.S. warship named for the first and greatest of all SACEURs.  President Eisenhower, who returned after retiring to become the first SACEUR, had a clear and compelling vision for the Alliance which lives on today.  The ship which bears his name – 95,000 tons, four and a half acres of flight deck, 6,000 sailors and aviators and more than 60 aircraft – is testament to the enduring capability of NATO.
On the carrier, we were treated to an air power demonstration by Carrier Air Wing 7, a close aboard sail-by of the five frigates, and tours with attendant briefs on anti-piracy operations.  On a personal note, it was fun to be at sea with some of the very senior leadership of the Alliance – in addition to the Ambassadors and the Military Committee I had a chance to spend time with Admiral Giampaolo di Paola, the distinguished Chairman of the NATO Military Committee.  He’s commanded a frigate, submarines, and the Italian aircraft carrier Garibaldi– a rare triple crown.  Also aboard was General Karl-Heinz Lather of Germany, the Chief of Staff at SHAPE; Admiral Sir Trevor Soar, the British Commander-in-Chief of their Fleet; Admiral Mark Fitzgerald of the U.S. Navy; General Egon Ramms of Germany, and Admiral of the Fleet, D. Juan C. Muñoz-Delgado, Commander-in-Chief of the Spanish Fleet.
The mission: let our senior NATO leadership come to sea and learn about the maritime potential of the Alliance, from anti-piracy to counter smuggling boarding operations to surveillance to strike.  It was a good day, and as I flew home into the twilight of a long summer’s day, I felt we’d done a good job. It was fun to be back at sea, if only for a day.

Adm. James Stavridis
SACEUR and Commander EUCOM