Frau Dr. Ursula von der Leyen, Germany's Minister of Defense, walks into the U.S. Army Headquarters building with the Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, the USAREUR Commanding General, during her visit to Clay Kaserne Aug. 10, 2016. During the visit she met with H...
Frau Dr. Ursula von der Leyen, Germany's Minister of Defense, poses with members of the German contingency at the U.S. Army Headquarters during her visit here Aug. 10, 2016. During the visit she met with Gen. Ben Hodges, the USAREUR Commanding Genera...
(From Left) Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, the U.S. Army Europe Commanding General, Frau Dr. Ursula von der Leyen, Germany's Minister of Defense, and German Army Brig. Gen. Markus Laubenthal, USAREUR chief of staff, watch a slide show during a status briefing ...
Frau Dr. Ursula von der Leyen, Germany's Minister of Defense, sits next German Army Brig. Gen. Markus Laubenthal, USAREUR chief of staff, and speaks with members of the German contingency at the U.S. Army Headquarters during her visit here Aug. 10, 2...
WIESBADEN, Germany --Dr. Ursula von der Leyen, Germany's Minister of Defense, visited U.S. Army Europe's headquarters and met with Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, commanding general, U.S. Army Europe, key U.S. and German staff members, and participated in a Strong Europe update Aug. 10.
This is the first time Germany's Minister of Defense visited U.S. Army Europe headquarters.
"The relationship between the American and German military armed forces is a very good one," von der Leyen said during her visit. "We know that we need each other, but we know also that we can rely on each other."
Von der Leyen went on to highlight the sturdy relationship between the two militaries, citing the friendship as a major factor in success, noting the many military training and exercises conducted together.
"We can rely on one another," she said. "All this is based on the deep friendship between Germany and the U.S. We share the same values, we know what we are fighting for, what we have to defend, and this gives a good feeling, besides the professionalism, to have this deep friendship."
Another example of the relationship between the two allies is German Brig. Gen. Markus Laubenthal, U.S. Army Europe's chief of staff. Laubenthal is the first multinational chief of staff at the command, and the first Deutsches Heer, or Germany Army, officer appointed to a position in the U.S. Army Europe headquarters.
"We've assigned a German senior officer to the headquarters here, which is a small but strong signal (of) how close the interaction is and how deep of a trust and relationship we have," von der Leyen, said referring to his assignment.
Von der Leyen thanked U.S. Army Europe for hosting her and stated the visit reinforced her dedication towards the strong American and German friendship.
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About us: U.S. Army Europe is uniquely positioned in its 51 country area of responsibility to advance American strategic interests in Europe and Eurasia. The relationships we build during more than 1,000 theater security cooperation events in more than 40 countries each year lead directly to support for multinational contingency operations around the world, strengthen regional partnerships and enhance global security.
German Minister of Defense Visits Army Europe Headquarters
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