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Just one day after NATO’s historic two-day summit in Madrid, the alliance has sworn in a new Supreme Allied Commander and head of US European Command (EUCOM).
At a change of command ceremony in Stuttgart, Germany, Gen. Christopher Cavoli, the American four-star general who leads the U.S. military in Europe, raised his right hand and took command of an expanding NATO that will soon have 300,000 active troops under his watch.
It will also have two new member states — Finland and Sweden — after all 30 NATO parliaments vote for their inclusion.
Christopher G. Cavoli, U.S. Army General, smiles as he is awarded the Bavarian Order of Merit by the Bavarian Prime Minister. (Sven Hoppe/photo alliance via Getty Images)
“Chris knows Europe better than any officer alive in uniform today. Chris is literally built to lead EUCOM,” said Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, during the ceremony, accompanied by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
Austin thanked outgoing commander General Todd Walters, who led NATO’s transformation in the months since Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine.
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“I believe that future generations will look back on how we all served the cause of freedom at this pivotal moment,” Austin said during the ceremony. “All of them are inspired by the resilience and valor of the Ukrainian people. They will be inspired by the way nations of goodwill united against Putin’s aggression.”
General Cavoli’s father served in the army for 32 years, retiring as a colonel. Christopher was born in Italy on a US military base while his father was serving. He attended Princeton University and joined the Army as an infantryman in the 173rd Airborne Brigade in northern Italy.
“He grew up in Europe and has lived all over the continent and is fluent in French, Russian and Italian. He reads Spanish and Portuguese. And he can handle and understand Polish and Ukrainian, which allows him to communicate directly with about half the population of Europe,” General Milli said.
President Biden during a press conference on the final day of the NATO summit in Madrid, Spain, June 30, 2022. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Gen. Cavoli served in Bosnia and in combat with the 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan. He commanded a brigade combat group in the first armored division. He commanded the Seventh Army Training Group in Europe, deputy commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, and later the 25th Infantry Division.
He was Director of the Russian Bureau of the Pentagon’s Joint Staff, in addition to his MA in Russian Studies from Yale University.
“He’s tough. He’s got combat experience. He’s smart and has a deep understanding of Europe and Russia,” Milley said. “Chris Cavoli is the right officer in the right job at the right time. … We are at this pivotal moment, a transitional period in history. And EUCOM makes this important. You uphold the rules-based international order… You protect America’s vital interests. And, importantly, you prevent Great Power war.”
Gen. Cavoli would lead some of the biggest changes in the military posture in Europe since World War II. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, the Pentagon has deployed or extended the deployment of more than 20,000 US troops to Europe.
The US now has more than 100,000 troops based in Europe. And soon the 40,000-strong NATO Ready Force will be increased to 300,000 NATO troops.
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Dwight Eisenhower said he and the alliance leaders shared ‘the same passionate hope to serve free humanity and to do so securely.’ We still share that hope. We’re still keeping that flame burning,” Austin said.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a press conference on the final day of the NATO summit in Madrid, Spain, June 30, 2022. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
At the NATO summit in Madrid, President Biden announced that the United States would establish a military headquarters in Poland that would rotate to protect NATO’s eastern flank. A rotational combat brigade will be deployed to Romania, two F-35 squadrons to the United Kingdom, two naval destroyers to Spain and a short-range air defense battery to Italy.
Another 625 servicemen will head to Germany to operate anti-missile systems.
“Putin is seeking to Finlandize Europe,” Biden said at the NATO summit. “He will achieve the NATOization of Europe and that is exactly what he did not want, but this is exactly what needs to be done to ensure security in Europe.
President Biden on Friday announced another $820 million in security assistance for additional weapons for Ukraine, including air defense weapons requested by the Ukrainian government.
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This is the 14th recall package announced since August 2021 and includes munitions for HIMARS, two National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), 155 mm ammunition and four anti-aircraft radars.
Ukraine has four HIMARS or M142 highly mobile artillery rocket systems, which are light salvo rocket launchers developed in the late 1990s for the United States military. They are currently in use and will have four more by the end of July, according to senior defense officials.
Jennifer Griffin currently works as a national security correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC) and is based in the Washington bureau. She joined the network in October 1999 as a Jerusalem correspondent.
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