United States European Command
May 5, 2015
Three Years, Two Partner Nations, One Mission
By Master Sgt. Charles D. Larkin, USAF
Stuttgart, Germany: Three years ago, United States European Command (EUCOM) consolidated several military installations located throughout Europe. As installations closed and buildings were emptied, office furniture, computers, beds, and other furniture and equipment piled up in warehouses, like the one operated by the US-Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) in Italy.
Thanks to the efforts of EUCOM and DSCA, some of those items were recently given a new home in Vinnytsia, Ukraine. Personnel from the U.S. Embassy to Ukraine, EUCOM officials, and members of local Ukrainian government and non-government organizations gathered at the brand-new Vinnytsia Community Education Center for an inauguration ceremony on April 27.
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This community center project is just one of many involving U.S. and Ukraine partnerships. To date, the United States and Ukraine agencies have completed 35 humanitarian assistance projects in Ukraine over the past thirteen years and plan use these recent successful events as the framework for future projects.
“We have a long-standing relationship here,” said Mr. Geoffrey Pyatt, U.S Ambassador to Ukraine, during the inauguration ceremony. “Ukraine is going through a moment of unique testing and we are standing by the Ukrainian people jointly with our European partners, helping the Ukrainian people to choose their own future.”
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“Ukraine is a partner nation of the United States of America, ” said U.S. Army Maj. Wendy Zaborowski, EUCOM Civic Engagement office. “Through Defense Security Cooperation programs like Humanitarian Assistance renovations and Excess Property donations, we are able to partner with the Ukraine government to build its capacity and improve basic living conditions of its citizens, thus providing support for enduring stability in the future of Ukraine.”