Freedom 6 Sends: Strategic Priorities -- A Ready and Modern Army

By Lt. Gen. Donald M. Campbell, Jr., U.S. Army EuropeMarch 18, 2014

Hello USAREUR Team,

This month, as I continue to highlight the Chief of Staff of the Army's strategic priorities, I want to focus on the readiness and modernization of our Army and how U.S. Army Europe supports both.

Right now the Army and USAREUR are in a time of transformation as we seek to reach our authorized end strength to meet the needs of the nation. As we transform, we must ensure that our actions enable us to build readiness and continue modernization for the future.

Here in USAREUR we have an exceptional opportunity to meet the CSA's challenge of conducting tough, realistic, multi-echelon home station training utilizing our live, virtual and constructive capabilities to efficiently and effectively assure individual, leader and unit competencies.

Along with the forward presence of our maneuver and logistical support forces and our day-to-day relationships with allied and partner nations, our robust exercise program and use of the outstanding capabilities provided by the Joint Multinational Training Command, enables us to conduct realistic and innovative training and exercises. These events challenge us to improve our combined arms maneuver and wide area security capabilities, which play a key role in our readiness.

USAREUR is also well suited to make the best use of current and emerging technologies. Our brigade combat teams are fully modernized and are incorporating the latest force structure changes such as the activation of engineer elements in the 2d Cavalry Regiment and 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team. Enablers such as the 21st Theater Sustainment Command, 5th Signal Command, 66th Military Intelligence Brigade, and others, continually evolve to provide us the capabilities to maintain the strategic access we need.

Additionally, the return of the M1A2 (SEP) Abrams Main Battle Tank and the M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle to USAREUR as part of the European Activity Set (EAS) along with other modernization efforts in our formations continue to provide state of the art, interoperable combat power in support of both assigned and rotational units.

Our ability to structure training events that include our joint and multinational partners provides an excellent opportunity for us to be both responsive to multiple combatant command requirements, while being adaptive to the wide range of contingencies posed by an increasingly complex security environment.

The USAREUR Team is ready, today and always, to face the challenges of an increasingly complex world. I am confident that we are not only meeting the CSA's challenges, but leading the way with our agile, ready and modern force.

Strong Soldiers, Strong Teams!

-Lt. Gen. Donald M. Campbell, Jr.

Freedom 6

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