The following is a transcript of General Philip Breedlove's comments at the Northern Europe Chiefs of Defense Conference in Riga, Latvia on March 31, 2016.
First of all, it’s great to be back in Riga. I thank you for this opportunity today to highlight the strong relationships we enjoy among U.S. European Command, our NATO Allies and Partners, and especially our Latvian hosts. I have a strong appreciation for the Latvian military, the people of Latvia and all the contributions your country has made. Our military members thrive when they train here and exercise here; and I thank you for taking care of them and inspiring them to continue to serve.
I would like to thank General Graube "Raimonds" as I like to call him, for the warm hospitality, many times here, but certainly this week. I thank you Raimonds for co-hosting an important and very productive conference - and thanks to the 10 Nations who participated in the conference this week. We’ve had candid and very productive discussions regarding the concerns and challenges we continue to face here in Europe - and discussed how we can both strengthen the Alliance and not only our Alliance but our bilateral cooperation between our militaries.
We also discussed the security situation here in Europe and how it continues to evolve and become more complex. We continue to face direct security challenges from two directions. To the East and North, we face a resurgent, aggressive Russia. As we have witnessed these past 2 years, Russia continues to seek to extend its influence on its periphery, and beyond.
To the South…Europe faces the daunting challenge of mass migration, spurred by state instability and collapse…and masking the movement of criminals, terrorists, and foreign fighters. As a result of conflict in the region, “Daesh” is spreading like a cancer, taking advantage of paths of least resistance, threatening European nations – and our own – with terrorist attacks.
Yesterday, United States made an important announcement about our future presence in Europe. Beginning in February 2017, we will maintain persistent, heel-to-toe presence of an armored brigade combat team with modernized equipment and appropriate enablers, here in the European theater.
This will bring the total Army presence in Europe up to three fully-manned, fully equipped and enabled, Army brigades. This is designed to reassure our Allies and Partners, to deter our potential adversaries, and to help ensure that we are prepared to fight and win if we have to. This reflects our strong and balanced approach, and our enduring commitment to Europe.
Our current funding request, for the European Reassurance Initiative would significantly expand on our ERI efforts to date. If approved, our ERI request would expand our focus from assurance to deterrence, including measures that vastly improve our overall readiness. The United States, along with our NATO Allies and Partners, will continue to help improve the readiness and responsiveness of NATO forces, to ensure that we can address any threat or any destabilizing situation.
Finally, I would like to again express my sincere gratitude to you my friend and to your staff for hosting this important conference, as he has mentioned, at such a critical time. Please know that U.S. European Command is committed to strengthening the bonds between the United States and Latvia, and that we remain fully committed to the collective defense of our NATO Allies.
