US Army Europe hosts 25th Annual Conference of European Armies

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Tamika Dillard | Senior land force commanders from 37 European nations, the U.S. and Canada listen to U.S. Army Europe staff members update the commander on current operations, Oct. 26 at the Mission Command Center in Wiesbaden, Germany. The update briefing kicked off the start of the 25th Annual Conference of European Armies.  

WISBADEN, HE, GERMANY

11.01.2017

Story by Staff Sgt. Tamika Dillard 

U.S. Army Europe and Africa     

WIESBADEN, Germany – Senior land force commanders from 37 European nations, the U.S. and Canada came together here Oct. 25-27 to discuss current threats and challenges during the 25th annual Conference of European Armies.

This year’s three-day conference, co-hosted by U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Milley and U.S. Army Europe Commanding General Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, included keynote speaker Gen. John Nicholson, commander for U.S. Forces Afghanistan and Resolute Support.

“This annual conference allows our allies and partners to come together to strengthen relationships and candidly discuss strategies and our unified priorities,” Milley said. “There is an inherent strength in our European partnership and collective readiness.”

The conference kicked off with an opening brief from Nicholas on the current state of Afghanistan and migrants.

“What’s happening in Afghanistan has a direct impact on the migration status into Europe,” Nicholas said. “Now we’ve seen a downturn of migrants over this year and a downturn of Afghan migrants. So I’d say these are some of the headlines of the performance in Afghanistan and how relevant it is for Europe today.”

This month alone, the U.S. is actively participating in exercises with approximately half of the nations represented at the conference.

The conference sessions were led by officers from various participating nations. The first session was led by U.S. Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt; CIDOB Barcelona Centre for International Affairs Director of Europe Pol Morillas; and BILD Digital Editor-in-Chief Julien Reichelt (Germany) focused the changing European security environment.

The second session focused on Enhanced Forward Presence lessons learned and allied exercises. It was led by NATO Joint Forces Commander Gen. Salvatore Farina; Framework Nation Gen. Sir Nick Carter (Great Britain); Framework Nation Lt. Gen. Jorg Vollmer (Germany); and Host Nation Brig. Gen. Valdemaras Rupsys (Lithuania).

The third session was led by Lt. Gen. Thierry Corbet (France); Lt. Gen. Leo Beulen (Netherlands); Maj. Gen. Jaroslaw Mika (Poland); and Lt. Gen. Paul Wynnyk (Canada) and was titled “European Strategic Challenges: Terrorism and Deterrence- Implications for Resources and Capabilities.”

“The Conference of European Armies remains a key multinational engagement opportunity to enhance the Canadian Army’s understanding of the regional issues and the complexity of both current and future international challenges,” Wynnyk, the commander for Canadian Army, said. “By reinforcing ties with our European partners, the Canadian Army continues to demonstrate that Canada is a reliable partner in the defense of common interests.”

U.S. Army Europe organizers said that the CEA has been the commanding general’s premier general officer-level theater security cooperation event since 1988, providing a venue for shared training opportunities, establishing relationships between European ground forces and contributing to regional and global security, peace and stability.

• Date Taken: 11.01.2017
• Date Posted: 11.01.2017 04:00
• Story ID: 253722
• Location: WISBADEN, HE, DE