I attended an extraordinary dinner last night.

In a small wood-paneled ballroom at the glittering Adlon Hotel of Berlin, a parade of speakers celebrated what is called in German “die Mauerfall” — “the fall of the wall.”  It came in the 60th year of the NATO Alliance, and was hosted by the Atlantic Council.

The best speech of the night was Hillary Clinton’s, who accepted a “Freedom’s Challenge” award on behalf of the American people.  As she spoke eloquently of all that the trans-Atlantic Alliance has meant over the years, I thought not of the past, but of the future.  As Secretary Clinton said, essentialy the fall of the wall was not the end of history, but the beginning.  So true.

The other remarkable speech was Vaclav Havel, the former President of Czechoslovakia and the leader of the “velvet revolution.” Drawing on his remarkable novel, “The Magic Lantern,” he spoke of the light shining anew through the lands of the east.  Sitting in that ball room with Americans Henry Kissinger, Brent Scocroft, Zbigniew Brzezinski and their European counterparts from those days two decades ago, one felt indeed the power of the light of liberty.

I was privileged to receive an award alongside Secretary Clinton — for the NATO troops who had been a part of all that was achieved in ending the Cold War and helping bring about the fall of the wall.  In a very brief set of remarks, I said that I was truly humbled by the privilege of accepting this award on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of Soldiers,
Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and civilians, past and present, upon whose shoulders rest the pillars of the trans-Atlantic bridge.

This is THEIR award, and I accepted it for them with pride for what they have done for the trans-Atlantic community over the past six decades and what they do today across the broad geographic stretch of NATO operations.  German – American statesman and General, Carl Shurz, once remarked that “If you want to be free, there is but one way; it is to
guarantee an equally full measure of liberty to all your neighbors.”

For 60 years, the NATO Alliance has endeavored to preserve the freedoms of its member nations and to encourage the spread of freedom to its neighbors. 

For the long decades of the Cold War, the men and women of NATO stood watch.  They manned the lines.  They flew and sailed on distant
patrol.  They protected us all.  And their steady determination and dedication to what is best in us all – freedom, liberty, democracy, rule of
law – in the end helped bring down this wall. 

Steadily, the Alliance has since grown from twelve nations to twenty eight and today, those twenty eight nations are working together to build mutual security and develop a deep capacity for tackling together the complex security challenges we face.

Today, the men and women of NATO continue to reassure every member of this Alliance of the rock-hard guarantee of Article 5 – we are committed to each other and stronger together.

Today, the men and women of NATO can also be found far away in Afghanistan, where 65,000 of them are decisively engaged. They can be found in the Balkans – most notably in Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina  -  where they have stemmed the tide of violence and where more than 15,000 of them every day contribute to a safe and secure environment; And they can be found at sea where they demonstrate our resolve to protect us in the Mediterranean … and off the Horn of Africa where they safeguard those strategic waterways from piracy.

One of my most distinguished predecessors, U.S. Marine General Jim Jones, is a good friend and mentor.  He said to me as I prepared to join the team at NATO, that this is the most successful Alliance in history.  I agree with all my heart.

Our NATO Alliance endures and is strong today.  We are adapting to a rapidly changing world.  Our future is bright and our men and women are as steadfast in their resolve to safeguard our freedoms and promote liberty as prior generations have been over the past 60 years.  This award recognizes their enduring achievements and serves as a symbol of all they pledge to NATO. 

What a night to be in Berlin.

Adm. James Stavridis
SACEUR and Commander EUCOM

Adm. James Stavridis brief Remarks in Acceptance of Freedom’s Challenge Awards on Behalf of NATO
Sunday, 8 November 2009

Thank you Mr. President for that kind introduction; and thank you all for this great honor.

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, friends, good evening.

I am truly humbled by the privilege of accepting this award on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and civilians, past and present, upon whose shoulders rest the pillars of the trans-Atlantic bridge.

This is THEIR award, and I accept it for them with pride for what they have done for the trans-Atlantic community over the past six decades and what they do today across the broad geographic stretch of NATO operations.

German – American statesman and General, Carl Shurz, once remarked that “If you want to be free, there is but one way; it is to guarantee an equally full measure of liberty to all your neighbors.”

For 60 years, the NATO Alliance has endeavored to preserve the freedoms of its member nations and to encourage the spread of freedom to its neighbors.  For the long decades of the Cold War, the men and women of NATO stood watch.  They manned the lines.  They flew and sailed on distant patrol.  They protected us all.  And their steady determination and dedication to what is best in us all – freedom, liberty, democracy, rule of law – in the end helped bring down this wall. 

Steadily, the Alliance has since grown from twelve nations to twenty eight and today, those twenty eight nations are working together to build mutual security and develop a deep capacity for tackling together the complex security challenges we face.

Today, the men and women of NATO continue to reassure every member of this Alliance of the rock-hard guarantee of Article 5 – we are committed to each other and stronger together.
Today, the men and women of NATO can also be found far away in Afghanistan, where 65,000 of them are decisively engaged.

They can be found in the Balkans – most notably in Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina  –  where they have stemmed the tide of violence and where more than 15,000 of them every day contribute to a safe and secure environment; And they can be found at sea where they demonstrate our resolve to protect us in the Mediterranean … and off the Horn of Africa where they safeguard those strategic waterways from piracy.

One of my most distinguished predecessors, U.S. Marine General Jim Jones, is a good friend and mentor.  He said to me as I prepared to join the team at NATO, that this is the most successful Alliance in history.  I agree with all my heart.

Ladies and gentlemen, our NATO Alliance endures and is strong today.  We are adapting to a rapidly changing world. Our future is bright, and our men and women are as steadfast in their resolve to safeguard our freedoms and promote liberty as prior generations have been over the past 60 years.  This award recognizes their enduring achievements and serves as a symbol of all they pledge to NATO. 

Thank you.