MAGAZINE
SPRING 2020
SACEUR COMMANDERS
CONFERENCE
“ We ’ re here because we have a responsibility to fight in the competition phase and deliver peace .”
IZMIR , Turkey – Headquarters NATO Allied Land Command hosted the Supreme Allied Commander Europe ( SACEUR ) Commanders Conference January 29 , 2020 . The biannual conference is an opportunity for the SACEUR , U . S . Air Force General Tod D . Wolters , to meet with Allied Command Operations ( ACO ) commanders , Command Senior Enlisted Leaders , and Political Advisors to discuss NATO priorities . Unique to this conference is the fact representatives from Allied Command Transformation ( ACT ) attended as well . not talking about the things we ’ re going to have to do to generate more peace and win , I think we ’ re making a mistake ,” he said , expanding on the purpose of the gathering .
The conference , which is always chaired by SACEUR , is hosted at different headquarters across Allied Command Operations on a rotating basis . This was the first time LANDCOM hosted the event .
Topics covered during this conference included a focus on NATO ’ s deterrence and defence Posture , including the Deterrence and Defence of the Euro-Atlantic Area Concept , the enablement of SACEUR ’ s area of responsibility , as well as NATO ’ s operations , missions and activities . This iteration comes on the heels of the January 14-15 Military Committee meeting , another NATO event held biannually between Alliance chiefs of defence .
“ We ’ re here because we have a responsibility to fight in the competition phase and deliver peace ,” said General Wolters during his opening remarks . “ And , every time we gather , if we ’ re
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“ Günaydın and Hoş Geldiniz ! Good morning and welcome to Turkey ! Thank you very much for this opportunity to have this conference here ,” said LANDCOM commander , U . S . Army Lieutenant General J . T . Thomson . “ I ’ ll tell you , this is very important to LANDCOM , but from a bigger perspective , this is very important to the Republic of Turkey ,” noting the excitement senior Turkish military and government officials conveyed to him during a recent meeting he attended in Ankara . “[ They told me ] it is great that SACEUR is having his conference here ,” he said .
NATO has had a continuous command structure presence in