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Central Europe Chiefs of Defense Conference
Gen. Tod Wolters and Adm. Emil Eftimov co-host the Central Europe Chiefs of Defense Conference. Photos courtesy of the Bulgarian Ministry of Defence.
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Central Europe Chiefs of Defense Conference
Gen. Tod Wolters and Adm. Emil Eftimov co-host the Central Europe Chiefs of Defense Conference. Photos courtesy of the Bulgarian Ministry of Defence.
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Central Europe Chiefs of Defense Conference
Bulgarian honor guard welcomes Gen. Tod Wolters to the Central Europe Chiefs of Defense Conference.
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Central Europe Chiefs of Defense Conference
Bulgarian honor guard welcomes Gen. Tod Wolters to the Central Europe Chiefs of Defense Conference.
The U.S. European Command and Bulgarian Defence Forces held the Central Europe Chiefs of Defense Conference Nov. 17-18, 2021 in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Adm. Emil Eftimov, Chief of Defense, Bulgarian Armed Forces, and U.S. Air Force Gen. Tod Wolters, commander, U.S. European Command, served as co-hosts for the conference.
Participants also included the Chiefs of Defence from Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia.
During the conference, heads of delegation discussed regional security challenges, transformation of forces to NATO compatibility, and lessons learned about military mobility. The discussions concluded with a briefing on USEUCOM’s Fiscal Year 2022 Joint Exercise Program, reaffirming continued commitment to deepening defense cooperation.
“Last year, U.S. Defense Secretary and Bulgarian Minister of Defence signed a 10-year road map charting defense cooperation between the two countries over the next decade,” said Adm. Emil Eftimov, Chief of Defense, Bulgarian Armed Forces. “We stay committed to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of our responses, transforming our forces to better compatibility with NATO requirements, and enhancing interoperability in all domains.”
Senior enlisted leaders for each nation met a day earlier to discuss ways of empowering enlisted forces. During that event, the enlisted leaders briefed their nation’s approach to enlisted development.
Central Europe and the Black Sea are strategic regions of growing geo-political and global importance. Joint exercises and interactions between allied and partner forces increases interoperability across all domains and promotes peace and stability throughout Europe through the ability to respond to a variety of current and potential threats.
“Coming together with our allies and partners provides us the opportunity to share knowledge and experience that enhances defense cooperation relationships and interoperability. This gathering is very useful given the ever-dynamic security conditions in the vicinity of the Black Sea,” said Air Force Gen. Tod D. Wolters, commander, U.S. European Command. “The U.S. is committed to continuing these essential strategic partnerships.”
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U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) is responsible for U.S. military operations across Europe, portions of Asia and the Middle East, the Arctic and Atlantic Ocean. USEUCOM is comprised of more than 64,000 military and civilian personnel and works closely with NATO Allies and partners. The command is one of two U.S. forward-deployed geographic combatant commands headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. For more information about USEUCOM, visit https://www.eucom.mil.
