News

MONS, Belgium — General Philip M. Breedlove became NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), assuming command of Allied Command Operations from outgoing SACEUR, Admiral James Stavridis on May 13th, 2013.

The change of command, presided over by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, marks only the third time in NATO history that an Air Force General assumes the post since the position was established in 1951 when General Dwight D. Eisenhower became the first SACEUR.

Upon welcoming General Breedlove to assume his responsibilities at a critical time, Mr. Fogh Rasmussen noted, "You will quickly realise that the local community is very proud of its association with SHAPE. And I would like to thank Belgium and the people of Mons, for the hospitality and friendship they provide to all the NATO staff who work here".

General Breedlove is the seventeenth American officer to hold the prestigious post.

"As I take command today, I am humbled by the great company I am joining, intrigued by the challenges we will face together, and inspired by the recent achievements of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines from across this incredible Alliance," said General Breedlove.

"Within the borders of our Alliance we enjoy unprecedented levels of stability, but beyond our frontiers there is uncertainty and insecurity," he continued. "As SACEUR my first and enduring priority will be to ensure that NATO remains vigilant and prepared to meet the challenges and threats of the future with agile, capable, and interoperable military forces."

"My wife Cindy and I look forward to serving alongside the men and women of NATO, enjoying life and culture in Belgium, and establishing lasting friendships with colleagues from all of our Allies, partners, and friends," he said.

The SACEUR is responsible for the overall direction and conduct of military operations for NATO. The position is normally held by a United States Flag or General officer, who also serves as Commander U.S. European Command. His command is exercised from Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) near Mons, Belgium.

Click here for the photo gallery.

Allied Reach 2013 ended after nearly 150 senior military and civilian officials concluded their syndicate work in which they engaged in strategic-level discussions to map out NATO's potential future operational environment.

It has been just over six months since French Air Force General Jean-Paul Paloméros took his seat as Supreme Allied Commander Transformation.

General Mieczyslaw Bieniek, Deputy Commander of NATO's Allied Command Transformation (DSACT) visited Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) 17-21 April 2013.

The Hampton Roads community and NATO Allied Command Transformation (ACT) came together April 27, 2013 to celebrate their friendship during Norfolk NATO Festival 2013 in downtown Norfolk.

NATO Allied Command Transformation (ACT) kicked off the Norfolk NATO Festival April 26, 2013, with a Flag Raising Ceremony on the Norfolk Scope Plaza in Norfolk, Virginia.

The 21st Technology for Information, Decision and Execution Superiority (TIDE) Sprint was held April 15-19, 2013 at the Joint Warfare Centre in Stavanger, Norway. The event was hosted by Allied Command Transformation's Command & Control Deployable & Sustainability (C2DS), Technology & Human Factors (THF) Branch. "JWC proved to be an excellent venue for hosting a non-traditional training event like the TIDE Sprint "Kell Hvolbol , TIDE Sprint coordinator, ACT said, "...the centre was very agile and adaptive to meet the special requirements".

TIDE Sprints are "sandbox" events that bring together the TIDE Community to discuss and rapidly solve CIS issues through a set of collaborative and educational think-tank sessions. TIDE Sprints use a combination of brainstorming, collaboration, education, demonstration, coding and testing to identify and address issues otherwise known as "tracks". "Despite all social media tools, people still need to meet face to face" said Johan Goossens, Branch Head C2DS THF.

Attendees from 10 NATO commands/agencies as well as from Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey United Kingdom, United States, and representatives from Academia and Industry took part in the event.

Several guest speakers from NATO and Industry provided insight on the way NATO is moving, and on current trends in the very complicated CIS [Computer Information System] world.  Brigadier General John W. Doucette, JWC Chief of Staff said, "These are the type of events JWC should host in the future."

The next Tide Sprint will be held at the Virginia Beach Resort Hotel in Virginia Beach, Virginia October 21-25, 2013.

Additional information can be found on tide.act.nato.int or by contacting Mr Kell Hvolbol, +1 757 747 3652.

Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT), French Air Force General Jean-Paul Paloméros, visited Hungary on April 19.

General Paloméros praised Hungary as "...an invaluable member of the Alliance that has shown its full capability to fulfil duties and obligations of a NATO member".

Poland is one of the most engaged nations in the implementation of the CFI – a priority for the SACT. This stated SACT, General Jean-Paul Paloméros during his visit to Poland recently.

At the request of Ambassador Dirk Brengelmann, NATO's Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy, Allied Command Transformation (ACT) has planned, developed and placed into their online learning management system the first jointly developed e-Learning course with the United Nations (UN).

Starting with an idea from the Staff Element Europe Legal Advisor, the NATO CD&E process enabled an operational capability directly supporting ISAF. The result was the Legal Overview Experiment that yielded the "CLOVIS".

"The key problem we are trying to overcome is the member nations' unwillingness to invest in more Education and Training. [However] the nations should not build their own capabilities, but rather use NATO's accredited structures."

There are not many organisations that will dedicate an entire day to young leaders of tomorrow and ask them to help find solutions to challenges that could profoundly impact the lives of millions - but not every organisation advocates for continuous improvement in an Alliance of 28 different nations like ACT.

NORFOLK, Virginia -- Norfolk State University hosted the sixth annual Model NATO Challenge March 21 giving 28 local high school students the opportunity to earn up to $5,500 in scholarship prizes.

As 21 European nations belong to both organisations, Allied Command Transformation (ACT) and the European Defence Agency (EDA) have common objectives: to develop the defence capabilities of their member states, ensure availability and heighten interoperability in order to meet future security challenges.

The NATO delegation visited Sarajevo on the occasion of NATO's Military Partnerships Coordination Workshop 2013 (MPC WS 13). The Bosnia and Hercegovina (BiH) Ministry of Defence (MOD) hosted the event.

The Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (DSACT), Polish General Mieczyslaw Bieniek led the NATO delegation while at the same time being on an official country visit. Minister Zekerijah Osmić led the MOD delegation, along with deputies Marina Pendeš and Mirko Okolić. The meetings discussed many aspects of the cooperation between BiH and NATO.

In a speech to the MPC WS, General Bieniek shared the vision and the mechanics of NATO's Military Partnerships program stressing the foundation of cooperation: "Together we forge the future of partnership." "We have the chance to set the table for a new era of collaboration forged over two decades of conflict, but strengthened by shared values and sustained by the fact that we can achieve together, what we cannot gain alone".

Deputy Chief of Staff for the Bi-Strategic Command [Allied Command Transformation/ACT and Allied Command Operations/ACO] Military Cooperation Directorate (DCOS MPD) Major General Sandor Fucsu said: "We are here to facilitate the exchange of information with partners according to new developments in the partnership arena," going further to explain, "The 2014 programmes will coordinate and incorporate partners' inputs into ACT and ACO Partnership Cooperation Menu (PCM)."

The NATO Military Partnerships Coordination Workshop gathered those responsible for military partnership from the International Staff in NATO's command structure at a strategic and operational level and partners from all partnership programs: Partnership for Peace, Mediterranean Dialogue, Istanbul Cooperation Initiative, as well as other partners around the world.

"This event was a huge opportunity for partners," said Fucsku. "The workshop provided the platform to express national interests, priorities and needs for the next years so that NATO's support and help could be reflective on the requirements of each unique country."

Over 150 participants from 27 partner nations took part, including NATO representatives from every command and all NATO training institutions.

Following the workshop General Bieniek met with the Minister of Defence, Mr. Zekerijah Osmic and the Chief of Defence, Major General Anto Jelec. DSACT extolled gratitude stating, "BiH is an active contributor to NATO-led operations, and for this we are grateful."

"The Ministry of Defence is happy and proud of the NATO event that is taking place on their soil," said Mr. Osmic further adding , "Please extend our gratitude to the NATO bodies involved in the preparation of this workshop - the transformation process is clearly in progress." At the end of the meeting, DSACT acknowledged the importance of BiH as an important Partner to NATO.

"ACT's commitment is devoted to enhancing cooperation in the Partnership for Peace framework," Bieniek said. "Surely we will succeed if we work at it together."

The Coalition Warrior Interoperability Exploration, Experimentation and Examination Exercise (CWIX) recently completed the 2013 Final Coordination Conference (FCC) at the Joint Force Training Centre (JFTC) in Bydgoszcz, Poland March 12–15.

The final day of the Concept Development & Experimentation (CD&E) Working Group had attendees completing necessary initial validation of the 2014 Headquarters Supreme Allied Command Transformation (HQ SACT) CD&E programme.

Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (DSACT), Polish Army General Mieczyslaw Bieniek, met with military leaders in Austria and Switzerland February 27 and 28 and praised both Partnership for Peace (PfP) nations for their continued cooperation with NATO to maintain security in the European region.

During his visit to Austria, General Bieniek was hosted by Deputy Chief of Austrian Defence Staff (DCHOD), Lieutenant General Othmar Commenda, and he met with Chief of Austrian Defence Staff (CHOD), General Edmund Entacher.

DSACT commended leaders for their work within the framework of European Union (EU) taking on security challenges.

The hosts, in response to DSACT's appraisal responded that "The EU remains the most important framework and Austria maintains its commitment to participation in the whole spectrum of security-policy related activities and that Austria, under the umbrella of NATO's PfP, will continue its work and seize new opportunities for cooperation."

While in Switzerland the discussion was focused on current NATO and Allied Command Transformation (ACT) initiatives such as the Connected Forces Initiatives (CFI), Smart Defence (SD) and Centres of Excellence (COEs). These initiatives increasingly create efficient education and training opportunities by encouraging nations to share resources.

General Bieniek met with Swiss Head of Armed Forces Staff, Swiss Major General Hans-Peter Walser, and was impressed with the level of commitment toward offering training to NATO (mostly on armed conflicts law, international humanitarian law, arms control and disarmament).

"I anticipate that Switzerland will maintain its participation in ACT events and consider increasing participation in NATO-led exercises," said General Bieniek.

Austria and Switzerland are both NATO partners in the PfP, a programme of bilateral cooperation between individual Euro-Atlantic partner countries and NATO. It allows partners to build a relationship with NATO while choosing their own priorities of cooperation.

DSACT during his visits took an opportunity to thank the nations for their continued cooperation with NATO and acknowledged them as key contributors to NATO's success.

To an audience of nearly 200, Allied Command Transformation's (ACT) Deputy Chief of Staff, Strategic Plans and Policy, Major General Peter Bayer, Jr., along with the US Joint Staff J7 Joint Collation and Warfighting, Brigadier General Brian Beaudreault, presented a panel discussion at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art Center in Virginia Beach on Saturday, 2 March.

The Great Decisions yearly series event offers panel topics which are designed to evoked discussion among the audience while bringing relevant foreign policy topics to the Hampton Roads community. MGen Bayer, Jr. and BGen Beaudreault spoke to the pre-set topic title of:

How can the United States and NATO address the challenge of a weak economy, homegrown terrorism, and nuclear proliferation? What threats and opportunities are presented by the ascendancy of China and by regime change in the Middle East?

Lively discussion ensued by the attendees on topics of threat assessment and futures work, including questions on NATO's expansion of partnerships in Asia, Article 5 implementation in regards to cyber defence, and NATO's position on drug trafficking. ACT Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (DSACT), General Mieczysław Bieniek was in attendance and addressed the audience on their questions regarding cyber defence and NATO.

As the concluding Great Decisions discussion, the event staff greatly appreciated the contributions from ACT.

The Norfolk World Affairs Council hosts Great Decisions, a yearly event developed by the Foreign Policy Association where Allied Command Transformation has twice been represented in 2013. The Norfolk World Affairs Council, a non-profit, non-partisan organisation, expands awareness of foreign policy and diplomacy for the citizens of Hampton Roads in order to promote a broader understanding of issues of global importance.