Making the Team Stronger

How do you make a team stronger?  When the word team is mentioned, baseball may come to your mind (or at least it does mine seeing as how it is World Series time) and then you may think that it takes hours and hours of tough training on the playing field to become a champion.  Blood, sweat and tears…right?  But did the Yankees and Phillies practice harder than all of the other teams this past year so that they would be the last two standing right now?   Do their players have more hours of training than players from other teams? 

I would submit that at the Major League level, pretty much all of the players have comparable amounts of training, so absurdly large amounts of it is not the key.  But then what is?

In my opinion, many factors contribute to making high-level teams great, but they have much more to do with team chemistry than tough training.  This is because every individual on a high-level team has already put in the countless, grueling hours to rise to the top.  Everyone in Major League Baseball is already an individual superstar, but not every team is the greatest.  So…back to my question: How do you make a team, particularly a high-level one, stronger? 

At Special Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR), we tackled that challenge this past week when we gathered all of the component commanders (1st Battalion-10th Special Forces Group, Naval Special Warfare Unit 2, 352nd Special Operations Group and the SOCEUR Signal Detachment) and senior staff together at the Edelweiss Resort in Garmisch, Germany.  Maj. Gen. Frank Kisner, the SOCEUR Commander, directed that the conference be conducted in civilian clothing and ensured that there were multiple opportunities to bring everyone together socially. Why civilian clothing you ask?  Well, it seems that when the uniforms are put away and people gather wearing ‘civvies’, traditional service barriers are put away as well.  Put the uniforms on and the Air Force folks tend to hang out with other Air Force folks, Navy with Navy, Army with Army and so on.  When everyone looks like the State Department guys that were in attendance, they are more likely to go interact with them and thus learn something about how to make the larger (read: National) team stronger.  There’s got to be some sort of sociological study that can explain this phenomenon, but I saw it work in real life, which is the ultimate laboratory.

We did gather to talk about where the command is headed and some of the major challenges facing each of the components, but the primary goal was to strengthen the team, and the times when that occurred most readily was after the PowerPoint-heavy (yet informative) ‘conference’ portion finished each day. 

Traditional German dancers entertain the SOCEUR crowd at the Restaurant Frauendorfer. Photo by Lorie Warchol

Our visit to the Restaurant Frauendorfer in the Partenkirchen area of the city really seemed to highlight this.  Amidst the awesome German food, beer, music and folk dancing (although there were some potentially capable folk dancers in our crowd, the restaurant provided the entertainers) emerged great stories about where people had traveled, what crazy things their kids were up to, what personal ambitions they had…all on a personal level that had nothing to do with anything but getting to know each other better.   Learning about each other on a personal level built chemistry.  We learned that despite our service differences, we were all pretty much the same. 

The point is, as we get to know and become more familiar with each other, we are more willing to go the extra mile and ‘dig deep’ for each other when times are tough.  Most everyone accepts that, as ADM Stavridis has pointed out, we are stronger together, but it is when we know each other beyond the professional level that we are truly willing to sacrifice for one another.  That is what makes teams stronger and contributes to true teamwork.  Whether you are a baseball fan or not, you can bet that both the Yankees and Phillies have developed strong personal bonds among themselves, and that, not their level of training (or even funding) is why one of them and not any of the other 28 Major League Baseball teams will be the World Series Champion next week.

MAJ Jim Gregory, SOCEUR PAO

Project Handclasps helps sustain HA efforts in EUCOM

On Oct. 22, I had the most rewarding day since being assigned as the Bilateral Affairs Officer to the U.S. Embassy, Vilnius, Lithuania. That day, I was in charge of organizing the delivery of hygiene and medical material donated as part of Project Handclasp, the Navy’s space available program for shipping humanitarian donations.

That morning, myself along with sailors from the USS John L Hall and Ambassador Anne Derse with other staff from the U.S. Embassy spent several hours on the Baltic shore cleaning up the beach as part of a U.S. Navy Community Relations program. After that, we all traveled to Caritas Elderly Care center to where earlier this summer, service members from the USS Mount Whitney and the Lithuanian Navy made desparate repairs on an aging building that was a donated elementary school turned home for the elderly. We had a wonderful visit and donated some more supplies to help them with the care of the residents.

Everyone was in great spirits and it was so wonderful to see the administrators, Father Vilius Viktoravicius and Rasa Senkiene, again. It’s nice to see the reaction from our friends that we’ve made a difference in their lives. We hope that our continued efforts provide peace of mind that this elder community has not been forgotten and they look forward to continued efforts with the U.S. as well as Lithuanian Navy.

Ambassador Anne Derse passes out items as part of Project Handclasp to children at the Rytas Orphanage, Oct. 22. Sailors from the USS John L. Hall refurbished the Orphanage's kitchen and bathroom facilities and replaced aging windows throught the whole building.

What a great morning, but the highlight of my day was our final stop at Rytas Orphanage. There are currently 68 children between 4-18 years of age at the orphanage and they are not strangers to the U.S. generosity and friendship. In 2006, we helped refurbish their kitchen and bathroom facilities as well as replaced the aging windows throughout the building.

So, when we arrived their eyes got big and they began clapping with excitement because they knew we came to bring needed supplies. Everyone, including the ship’s commanding officer and Ambassador Derse unloaded boxes of shampoo, soap, mouth wash and other basic healthcare items. The U.S. Embassy added a collection of books to the Handclasp donations which only raised the level of excitement for the children. Then, the Lithuanian children surprised us by singing and dancing for us. It was such a great experience! It’s amazing to me what an impact these contributions and this assistance can make.

Once the celebrations were over and the distinguished visitors left, I stayed behind with five sailors. We had so much fun just hanging out with the children. We taught each other silly dance steps and laughed and giggled for close to two hours. Having the reason to come is one thing, but to actually connect and make dreams become a reality is what I found most rewarding.

U.S. Navy sailors from the USS John L. Hall, myself and children from Rytas Orphanage joke around here Oct. 22 after a Project Handclasp donation was provided to the orphanage.

The HA program allows us to reach out and make a difference and we really did make a difference. After meeting with the orphanage administrator, Regina Milasiene, I found that she too finds our continued visits bring HOPE, not only for the kids but for her and her team. These are the connections we make as citizen soldiers in countries where relationships can make a difference. In Lithuania we can help make dreams become a reality through sustained humanitarian efforts. I will not soon forget this amazing experience!

LtCol Stephen Timmons
Deputy ODC Vilnius

Does social media allow you to care now?

Maj. Kristi Beckma is the Chief of Social Media for European Command Public Affairs

So, based on my fellow blogger, Maj. Jim Gregory’s, last post on the relevancy of European Command, I’d like to take that one step further and put you on the spot, in a nice way of course!

It’s obvious EUCOM is relevant. We’ve been around for 57 years so we’re doing something right. We are a huge provider for NATO, an incredible organization that simply put, brings partner nations together under one umbrella to work world issues TOGETHER.

But, is EUCOM relevant to YOU? Do you care about what the more than 84,000 servicemembers and their families are doing over here, and most importantly if you don’t care, then why not?

I tell you what, I’m going to be honest here…I didn’t care about EUCOM prior to coming here and I’m in the U.S. military!

Of course I knew what EUCOM was and why it existed. For us military folks, (and it’s no different in the civilian sector in your corporations) no matter what your job is, you’ve got to understand where your cog (mission) fits into the machine (overall mission) and then you’ve got to understand how all those others cogs (the rest of the military) work together to make that machine run. So, yah, I knew about EUCOM, but I didn’t really care to read about EUCOM because I was too busy keeping up with my current mission.

I cared about the job I was in and not much else, whether it was working for Air Combat Command at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, or deploying to Joint Task Force Liberia, that was what I cared about. I didn’t “follow” EUCOM.

I know the plethora of information that goes out daily from the U.S. military is intense. But it’s because we are busy folks and we want the world to know all the great things we’re doing or trying to do. Why do we want the world to know? Because we work hard, dangit! We work so hard to do our part to make our world a better place to live and unfortunately that is a daunting task and it seems to get harder as we move further into the future.

At EUCOM alone, we work daily with our 51 partner nations who all have the same purpose. We all just want to live our lives in peace and make something of ourselves. And obviously as two, or rather 51 heads, are better than one, we are determined to work together to make a difference. But does anyone care?

Not sure if I’m making any sense here… I just think our lives get incredibly busy and 24 hours is not enough time to devote yourself to your current mission of YOUR job, YOUR family, YOUR life, and then take the time to care about other missions such as EUCOM.

Nowadays, because of the social media explosion and the tools available to communicate, I find myself following and reading about people and businesses that I wouldn’t otherwise care about. So, if I’ve changed my tune, does that mean that many others have as well?

Are my readers/communicators just going to be folks in Europe or folks who have military members stationed here? How much time do you have to devote to learning about the plethora missions out there? Are my readers just going to follow me when a crisis occurs or are they going to care now? Tell me what you think!

Joint Honor Guard Experience at the NFL Game in London

I had a pretty exciting day Sunday as I had the privilege of traveling to London, England, with the Joint Intelligence Operations Center Europe Analytic Center Joint Honor Guard. The Honor Guard was invited to the NFL game to present the colors and I couldn’t wait to experience this with them!

On top of that, the British Joint Color Guard was teaming up with the JAC Honor Guard and they had not met prior to today.

Once both teams arrived, we met with NFL coordinators to get our instructions for the day. We were given a nice room in the underground of the stadium and told to be ready to practice on the field at 12:30 p.m.

Here's a great shot of the joint honor and color guard team at the stadium!

We had no idea who would be singing the Star Spangled Banner and imagine our surprise when pop superstar Toni Braxton came walking onto the field. She was very friendly and posed for photos with the team. We also met Welsh singing sensation Katherine Jenkins who sang the British National Anthem.

After practice, we all got a quick bite to eat. It was great learning about each other’s customs and even sharing deployment stories as several members of both teams had deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Then it was time for the teams to go on! After they were in their uniforms, they helped each other straighten medals, shine shoes, buckle belts and don hats. You could just see the pride on every one of their faces as they stood there representing their own service.

Just before game time, the teams moved through the underground tunnel of Wembley Stadium to get ready to go out on the field.

The NFL coordinator came to let us know it was time to go. Both groups assumed their positions as determined during practice and waited for the queue.

It was a moving time as the colors of both nations were presented flawlessly by the group who had just met hours before.

As appreciation for their time and service the NFL gave the group tickets to enjoy the game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New England Patriots.

Before going to their seats the two teams shook hands, exchanged e-mail addresses and Facebook names and laid the foundation for lasting friendships.

The excitement continued after the game, as the team got autographs, game footballs, wrist bands and gloves from the players.

The evening ended with a tired, but very happy team who had represented U.S. European Command and our great nation with pride, made friends for life with their British counterparts and created memories they will never forget.

Melony Angelilli
Public Affairs Officer
Royal Air Force Molesworth, UK

Defense Ministerial

I’ve just returned from Bratislava, Slovakia where the NATO Fall ‘09 Defense Ministerial was held, followed by an official visit to Slovakian senior defense leaders.

The Defense Ministerial is a chance for all 28 of the NATO Defense leaders (Ministers and Secretaries of Defense) to gather in a plenary session for a couple of days and discuss key issues.  Our new Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, led the event.

General Lubomir Bulik, Slovakia Chief of Defense and I walk to the office of the Slovakian Minister of Defense. This was my first official visit to the country since taking command of SHAPE in July.

Bratislava is Slovakia’s historic capital perched on the Danube River. The city of a half-million in a country of some five million is full of lovely classic European architecture and within a few minutes drive from  the Tatra mountain range and hundreds of medieval castles and historic villages, some of them declared UN world heritage sites.

The conference began with speeches and a brief presentation of Slovakian culture, including short performances in opera, contemporary ballet, and vibrant folk dancing.  The President and Minister of Defense of Slovakia welcomed everyone, and we swiftly went off to a working dinner.  In the conference hall, a huge circular table seated all 28 Defense leaders as well as the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, Italian Adm.Giampaolo DiPaola; the Commander of Allied Command Transformation, French Air Force Gen. Stephan Abrial; and me.  The dinner meeting was crisply run by the Secretary General, and afforded both me and Gen. Stan McChrystal, International Security Assistance Force commander, the chance to report on the situation in Afghanistan.

We followed up the next morning by a busy day of meetings and a working lunch that included the 28 NATO leaders, the 14 Ministers of Defense from Troop Contributing Nations who are engaged in Afghanistan outside of NATO (e.g. Australia, Sweden, New Zealand etc); Minister of Defense Wardak of Afghanistan; and Ambassador Kai Eide, the UN High Representative.  Both are good friends and colleagues doing hard work in challenging circumstances.  Again, the meetings focused on Afghanistan, the upcoming Presidential run-off election there, and the ISAF mission in general.

In addition to the obvious and vital discussions on Afghanistan, there was time to speak of the NATO Response Force, the Alliances “Quick Reaction” capability; transformation and the potential for reform and reorganization; missile defense and the new U.S. proposals with an eye toward NATO involvement; and a variety of other key issues.  Both Secretary General Rasmussen and Secretary of Defense Bob Gates highlighted the Alliance’s solidarity during their press conferences, and I echo their sense of alliance solidarity across the wide range of topics.  There was plenty of spirited discussion and challenging questions, but I came away from the meetings – my first as SACEUR, although I’ve attended many in other jobs – with a very positive sense of the alliance and the individual leaders.

As the NATO conference concluded on Friday, I was invited to remain for a series of meetings with Slovakian defense leaders.  My host was the Chief of the Defense Staff, four-star General Lubomir Bulik.  He and I attended meetings with the Slovak Minister of Defense, Minister of Interior, and Chairman of the Defense Committee in the Parliament.  At each meeting, we discussed the strong Slovak commitment to NATO in general and the mission in Afghanistan in particular.  I was also able to discuss some topics of interest under my U.S. European Command hat, including mutual use of training areas for preparation of allies for the ISAF mission.

Adm. James Stavridis
Commander, U.S. European Command and
Supreme Allied Commander, Europe

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