Photo By Sandra Roemer | The U.S. Army NATO hosted its 23rd annual Senior Army Leaders Meeting July 29 to...... read more read more
GARMISCH, Germany -- The U.S. Army NATO hosted its 23rd annual Senior Army Leaders Meeting July 29 to August 1 to give leaders from 82 locations in 22 countries the opportunity to meet face-to-face and share knowledge and ideas on NATO operations and how best to support the roughly 1,100 Soldiers serving within NATO organizations.
“This year we are marking the 75th Anniversary of the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty, NATO’s founding document, and one of the most important international agreements of the 20th century,” said Gen. Darryl A. Williams, commanding general of U.S. Army Europe and Africa. “Your meeting comes on the heels of the Washington Summit, which marked the adoption of several important initiatives as NATO returns to its core mission of collective defense in the wake of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.”
“As we navigate the complex landscape of security challenges in Europe and increasingly in Africa, it is crucial for us to align our efforts and work collaboratively towards common objectives,” he said. “At the operational and tactical levels, convergence is, the most important, and sometimes the most challenging thing we do.”
Convergence in this context refers to the process of synchronizing and aligning NATO’s lines of effort across the alliance and all combat domains.
“The SALM provides U.S. senior national representatives and senior Army leaders assigned to NATO units with a forum to receive strategic guidance and create shared situational understanding of the current strategic environment,” said Col. Ryan Raymond, U.S. senior national representative at NATO Allied Land Command headquartered in Izmir, Türkiye. “The meeting further affords U.S. Army NATO the opportunity to coordinate and synchronize goals and objectives, operational planning and execution for the coming year.”
“Finally, the meeting facilitates face-to-face interactions and relationship building with geographically separated senior leaders, identifying issues, concerns, and opportunities to improve warfighter support to Soldiers and families assigned to NATO organizations,” said Raymond.
Allied Land Command or LANDCOM is NATO’s theater land component command responsible for coordinating and synchronizing NATO and partner nations’ land forces by enabling land domain readiness, interoperability, standardization and competency.
Raymond has served for 11 years in NATO billets and was selected along with Col. Kyle Bayless, U.S. senior army officer at Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum in the Netherlands to serve as mentors during the New Senior Army Officer Orientation on day one of SALM XXIII.
“On the first day of the event I had the opportunity to serve as a mentor for some of the new senior Army officers who are just coming into the formation, and I was able to provide them some insight on how this NATO environment differs from our traditional Army formations,” said Raymond. “I think moving into the NATO environment for the first time can be particularly challenging, so this event provides an early opportunity for American officers who are going to be senior in their locations to communicate with and maybe learn from some who are more experienced in this theater.”
Another seasoned veteran of NATO at SALM XXIII was Col. John Shermer, the senior national representative for NATO Rapid Deployable Corps-Italy headquartered in Milan. His unit was officially designated as NATO's Allied Reaction Force on July 1.
The NATO Allied Reaction Force is a strategic, high-readiness, multi-domain capable force that provides forces from across the alliance to produce effects at shorter notice than has previously been possible.
“It is incredibly important that we are prepared and ready to deploy on short notice,” said Shermer. “The Senior Army Leader Meeting is an opportunity to ensure my Soldiers are ready to provide crucial support for the deterrence and defense of the Euro-Atlantic area, and that we can respond swiftly and effectively to any threat in an evolving security environment.”
“For most Soldiers that are in NATO we are chopped to these NATO units where we're very far away from senior Army leadership,” he said. “We're very far and this is a chance for all the senior national representatives to get together and to talk about our issues and to really understand the strategic imperatives that we need to carry forward.”
U.S. Army NATO includes about 725 U.S. Soldiers assigned to NATO billets across 21 countries in Europe and at the NATO units in Norfolk, Va. U.S. Army NATO also includes another 75 U.S. Soldiers assigned to the Military Personnel Exchange Program and as students at schools of other nations.
These 800 Soldiers are supported by a cadre of some 275 national support element Soldiers who conduct mission essential training to achieve and maintain rapid deployment readiness, improve interoperability with allies and partners and protect U.S. personnel and interests.
The national support element Soldiers are assigned to U.S. Army NATO Brigade, Allied Forces North Battalion, Allied Forces South Battalion, and nine companies located strategically in the North Atlantic Treaty area of responsibility. The brigade and battalion commanders and command sergeants major attend SALM XXIII.
“The AFNorth Battalion provides administrative and logistical support to 18 locations across 13 countries in the northern part of Europe,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Larry Forrest, Allied Forces North Battalion headquartered in Mons, Belgium. “That's everything from housing and logistical support to contracting support and readiness training to meet mission requirements.”
“I think from a senior enlisted leader standpoint, it's critical for us to be present here at the SALM to translate strategic insight down to our subordinate units,” said Forrest. “I think one of my most important roles as a senior enlisted leader is to understand operational requirements and guidelines and be able to communicate that in a way that is digestible down to Soldiers and their families, so they understand the mission that's ahead of them and what that's going to require.”
“General Williams gave a talk yesterday and he directed the audience here to provide the exact insights and inputs that they're gaining from the SALM back to their host nations and multinational partners,” said Forrest. “I think that is the biggest takeaway from this that the opportunity for all of us to come together in one room as senior leaders across Europe and gain that shared understanding that we talked about and share that understanding across NATO to our multinational partners and across the alliance is the critical component of why we're here today.”
While the plenary sessions of SALM XXIII held during days two, three and four were the main features of the event, the U.S. Army NATO staff took advantage of having leaders and some of their families in one place.
“This year’s meeting also included a Spouses Forum, where we sought to build relationships with geographically separated families,” said Col. Jeremiah D. Pope, U.S. Army NATO Brigade commander. “Activities included discussions and one-on-one opportunities with various members of the staff, offered in a flexible and open schedule. This allowed participants the opportunity to gain knowledge on the variety of capabilities and tools available to them in the field while building relationships and enjoying all that the Garmisch area has to offer.”
Additionally, the U.S. Army NATO Chaplain, Lt. Col. Craig Johnson, offered a Building Strong and Ready Teams session during the weekend immediately following SALM XXIII. Building Strong and Ready Teams is a unit-based, chaplain-led program which assists commanders in building individual resiliency by strengthening the Army Family.
“I really appreciate the U.S. Army NATO Brigade staff for putting on this event annually, because it is a great opportunity to ensure that we are moving in the same direction and that we have a common understanding of how to converge our U.S. leadership’s objectives with those of our NATO leadership,” said Raymond.
For more information about U.S. Army NATO go to the home page at www.usanato.army.mil.
| Date Taken: | 08.09.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.09.2024 08:03 |
| Story ID: | 478185 |
| Location: | GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, DE |
| Web Views: | 69 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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