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SHAPE, USEUCOM leaders advance NATO integration during staff talks

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) and U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) leaders met to discuss and advance integration goals at USEUCOM headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, from Sept. 11-12, 2024.

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Photo by: U.S. European Command Public Affairs 

Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) and U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) leaders met to discuss and advance integration goals at USEUCOM headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, from Sept. 11-12, 2024.

Discussions included five sessions aimed at strengthening the partnership between SHAPE and USEUCOM, primarily through the joint planning for Steadfast Deterrence 25 and Austere Deterrence 25, two key command and control exercises taking place next year.

The two annual exercises are designed to showcase the Alliance’s ability to employ high-readiness, multi-domain capabilities and exercise combined deterrence and defense concepts at both the strategic and operational level. The exercises are a key opportunity to identify and implement specific transformation initiatives aimed at streamlining joint and multinational planning, transferring authority of multinational forces under a unified command, sharing information and operating as a joint force in all domains.

The staff talks also provided an overview of each command’s progress in transitioning from out-of-area operations to collective territorial defense, a vital component of realizing the modernized, regional defense plans agreed to at the NATO Vilnius Summit in 2023.

USEUCOM and SHAPE staff talks, held twice a year, spotlight the two organizations’ efforts to collectively enable the strategic advantage of a 32-nation Alliance and protect shared interests in a dynamic security environment.