U.S. Department of Defense
May 13, 2013
Stavridis Highlights NATO’s Progress as ‘Force for Good’
By Jim Garamone
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The admiral said he looks at the alliance effort in Libya with quiet satisfaction…Aircraft, aircrew and ships from NATO and partners such as Sweden, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates worked together to protect life in Libya, he added.
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MONS, Belgium: As the flags of NATO’s 28 nations cracked in the wind during a change of command ceremony here today, the alliance’s outgoing and incoming supreme allied commanders noted the symbolism.
Navy Adm. James G. Stavridis passed the flag of Allied Command Operations to Air Force Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, who becomes the 17th commander of alliance forces, following in the footsteps of General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower and Army Gen. Matthew Ridgway.
Stavridis was the first U.S. Navy officer to hold the position. The flags, he said “are a beautiful, powerful symbol of how we sail together.”
The 28 NATO flags, joined by the flags of 22 partner nations, also fly in Afghanistan, and “they represent why we will succeed in Afghanistan,” Stavridis said.
“I will miss being part of a 50-nation coalition taking on jobs like Afghanistan,” the admiral said.
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The admiral said he looks at the alliance effort in Libya with quiet satisfaction…Aircraft, aircrew and ships from NATO and partners such as Sweden, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates worked together to protect life in Libya, he added.
Along with the European Union, Stavridis said, NATO has made great progress in Kosovo…
Looking ahead, Stavridis said he sees great challenges in Afghanistan and the need to protect NATO ally Turkey from the civil war in Syria spilling over its borders. NATO still needs to train together to be able to work together, he said, and this will be a problem as troops deploy out of Afghanistan and financial pressures cause governments to look for easy ways to cut defense budgets.
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“NATO matters to the world,” he added. “NATO brings security. NATO is a force for good in the world. I’ve been proud to be a part of it for four years.”
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