Enabling global strike for the U.S. and NATO operations is one of three key mission sets for the 501^st and it’s what RAF Fairford was built to accomplish said Colonel Kurt Wendt Commander, 501^st Support Air Wing. In a year of great historical significance as we celebrate the 70^th Anniversary of NATO and the 75^th Anniversary of RAF Fairford, this Bomber Task Force is just one example of the U.S. Air Force remaining engaged, postured and ready with credible force to assure, deter and defend in an increasingly complex security environment.

This deployment of combat air power is a visual example of our commitment.  The U.S. and Europe must preserve that commitment and trust in each other as we face emerging maligned forces and evolving strategic challenges.  This B-2 deployment should remind any potential adversary, whether it be a nation, a violent extremist organization, or any other bad actor, that the United States of America can apply combat power any time, any place Colonel Kurt Wendt said.

Obviously for operational security reasons we cannot discuss the specific locations where our B-2 aircraft are flying.  Again, we are flying in international airspace.  We are flying in accordance with international procedures and respective from all nations we are flying over, we have their approval , Lieutenant Colonel Schoeneberg said.

Below is a full rush transcript of the press conference by Colonel Kurt Wendt Commander, 501^st Support Air Wing and Lieutenant Colonel Robert Schoeneberg Commander of 393^rd Bomb Squadron.

Colonel Wendt:  Thank you.  This is Colonel Kurt Wendt, Commander of the 501^st Combat Support Wing.  Thank you for taking time to join us today.

On behalf of our team at the 501^st Combat Support Wing and United States Air Forces in Europe, I’m pleased to talk with you today about the Bomber Task Force deployment currently operating out of one of our wing’s seven installations, RAF Fairford in Western England.  

I’d also like to welcome the Bomber Task Force Commander from the 509^th Bomb Wing, Lieutenant Colonel Rob “Spartan” Schoeneberg who is on the line with me today.

The 509^th Bomb Wing’s presence and partnership with us here is truly a testament to the United States commitment to our allies and partners through the global employment of our military forces.  

This Bomber Task Force deployment is significant as we welcome the mighty B-2 Spirit stealth bomber and its team of airmen from the 509^th Bomb Wing back to our installation and to the European theater.  Enabling global strike for the U.S. and NATO operations is one of three key mission sets for the 501^st and it’s what RAF Fairford was built to accomplish.

Since its origin supporting D-Day operations 75 years ago, RAF Fairford has a storied legacy of generating both American and British missions across the globe to ensure security and stability in an otherwise unstable world.  

Today supporting forward deployed bomber task force aircraft here, and providing a place for their units to live, train and fight with our allies and partners is one of the key ways we continue to make that happen.

RAF Fairford will continue to be a critical asset for USAFE operations as the European theater’s premier bomber forward operating location.  The airmen and civilians on this installation along with the 2,000 professionals across the 501^st are proud to be a part of this critical mission and we’re ready to help accomplish any objective.

In a year of great historical significance as we celebrate the 70^th Anniversary of NATO and the 75^th Anniversary of RAF Fairford, this Bomber Task Force is just one example of the U.S. Air Force remaining engaged, postured and ready with credible force to assure, deter and defend in an increasingly complex security environment.

This deployment of combat air power is a visual example of our commitment.  The U.S. and Europe must preserve that commitment and trust in each other as we face emerging maligned forces and evolving strategic challenges.  This B-2 deployment should remind any potential adversary, whether it be a nation, a violent extremist organization, or any other bad actor, that the United States of America can apply combat power any time, any place.

Our team looks forward to ensuring this as we support the operations, partner integration and well-being of the bomber task force during their time here in the United Kingdom.

Lieutenant Colonel Schoeneberg:  This is Lieutenant Colonel Rob “Spartan” Schoeneberg.  I’m the Commander of the 393^rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron and the Commander of the B-2 Bomber Task Force currently deployed to Fairford, England.

Thank you, Colonel Wendt for welcoming and hosting our entire Bomber Task Force team and the 509^th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri.  We are honored to return to Royal Air Force Fairford, England.  These Bomber Task Force deployments enable the B-2 and our total force crew of airmen to maintain readiness, proficiency and validate our always ready global strike capabilities.

Our Royal Air Force friends are integral to the 509^th Bomb Wing mission.  The beauty of our partnership is that we get to understand how they see the world.  Working alongside international 5^th generation aircraft provides us unique training opportunities; it bolsters our integration capabilities; and showcases the commitment we have towards the NATO Alliance.

The men and women assigned to the 509^th Bomb Wing are also the caretakers of a rich heritage that traces back to World War II.  We are thrilled to be forward deployed to Fairford during our proud time, as mentioned, in Royal Air Force history and to showcase our interoperability to our allies and your community.

There is simply no substitute for our forward presence in Europe.  It is the bedrock of our ability to assure our allies, respond to threats as required, and ensure support to global operations.

Thank you again for your hospitality.  We look forward to our continued partnership with the United States Air Forces in Europe, Air Forces Africa, the 501^st Combat Support Wing, and the Royal Air Force. 

Question:  The first one, how long those three B-2s will stay in Europe?  And the second question, do you plan any involvement in Polish airspace or with Polish Air Force, maybe in Polish air base? 

Lieutenant Colonel Schoeneberg:  This is Lieutenant Colonel Rob Schoeneberg.  The B-2 bombers are temporarily deployed to RAF Fairford, England until our mission is complete or are tasked otherwise to go home.  The bomber deployment will include joint and allied training to improve our operability.  We’ll train with our joint partners, allied nations and other Air Force assets until that time concludes.

As far as your second question, sir, for operational security reasons we cannot discuss the specific locations of where our aircraft are flying, as you might understand.  However, U.S. Air Force bombers will fly and conduct missions throughout Europe in international airspace or over sovereign territory after coordination with and approval from respective nations.

I can say that the B-52 Stratofortress here at Fairford, not a part of the Bomber Task Force, are participating in exercises Ample Strike, Covert Warrior, and the NATO Days.

Question:  How close to Russia are the B-2s flying?  And what measures are being implemented to prevent incident with the Russians?

Lieutenant Colonel Schoeneberg:  This is Lieutenant Colonel Schoeneberg again.  Obviously for operational security reasons we cannot discuss the specific locations where our B-2 aircraft are flying.  Again, we are flying in international airspace.  We are flying in accordance with international procedures and respective from all nations we are flying over, we have their approval.

Question:  Russian military plans often violate NATO airspace in Europe.  How will you deal with this issue?  And are there any effective means to prevent such Russian behavior?

Colonel Wendt:  Really, I would keep our focus on the Bomber Task Force missions for NATO. I would refer you to NATO Allied Air Command Public Affairs.  Thank you.

Question:  There is little space for massive and indiscriminate blows in the circumstances of modern hybrid war, and extremely difficult to see lines of division between allies and rivals.  What is the practical sense for B-2 training?  If an attack happens, it would be over European soil so whom are you training to bomb?

Colonel Wendt:  I’ll take that question.  I would say the mission of the Bomber Task Force is to assure our allies, to assure our partners including all of our NATO allies, that the United States is here, and the United States is here to stand by your side.  And it’s meant to deter potential adversaries.

We don’t necessarily look to deter any specific groups, nations, organizations.  We are here to deter any potential adversary.  But our focus is to assure our partners and to train and work on the interoperability with our NATO Alliance.  

Colonel Wendt:  I would say from European Command and U.S. Air Forces in Europe, the Bomber Task Force is an enduring program, so we anticipate future opportunities to host bombers for the Bomber Task Force.

Lieutenant Colonel Schoeneberg:  Again, thanks to all the international partners that allow this kind of BTF to happen.  Thanks to Colonel Wendt and his team for their support and for all the changes and work they’ve done on RAF Fairford to make it the premier location for us as a bomber to forward deploy.

I will tell you as a Commander of a squadron that is constantly thinking about the next threat and where we go next, a mission like this allows me to make sure my air crew are familiar with the air spaces.  They are familiar with the base that they may fight from some day.  They get used to different geographic combatant commands.  They integrate with a wide variety of NATO players and international allies that that communication will build upon should a war come to be.  It builds their proficiency, it builds their confidence, and it helps us to execute decisive actions when and if needed and called upon to do so.

We are so thrilled to be here.  We have enjoyed the time that we’ve been here.  And I look forward to the next few days of training, the next few weeks of time that we’re here for all of the changes that we’re making and better preparing us for combat.

Colonel Wendt:  I would say this is a great opportunity, as any Bomber Task Force is, for us to engage with our partners.  Our partners from the 509^th Bomb Wing, Colonel Schoeneberg and his team have been just an outstanding group to have here at RAF Fairford with us.

It’s also an opportunity to engage with our international partners.

As I mentioned, this is how we assure our NATO Alliance that we are here.  The United States is here to stand by your side.  This is how we train and work with our international partners.  This is, as the Bomber Task Force Commander said, this is how we get better.  This is how we train so that we are ready for anything.

And at the end of the day, every day that we have peace on the European continent is a day that we’re doing our job right.  So we’re happy to host the Bomber Task Force and we look forward to future opportunities. 

A senior defense official, who declined to be quoted on the record, told reporters Wednesday that European security still depends on the transatlantic alliance and that any capabilities that are developed within non-NATO European contexts, whether that be EU or otherwise, needs to be compatible and non-duplicative with NATO. PESCO Initiatives, which is really the Military Mobility Initiative that is one of our foundational projects within Europe, is moving forward in a way that’s consistent with NATO requirements and capabilities, and therefore good for both NATO and for Europe.  And we would like further projects to have the same perspective he said.

Below is a full rush transcript of the press conference by a Senior Department of Defense Official.

Senior Defense official:  Thank you everyone for taking the time this morning to have a conversation with us about Secretary Esper’s trip to Europe.  As you know, he’s traveling to Paris tomorrow, or tonight actually, after spending today in London where he’s meeting with senior officials here in the UK.  He very much looks forward to meeting his counterparts in Paris.

The purpose of this trip is really for him to have the opportunity to build relationships with key partners and allies in the region, and particularly with is counterparts in Paris.  He’s bringing a message of policy consistency in the United States, particularly a focus on our National Defense Strategy and the priorities that it entails, in particular, long-term strategic competition with China in particular, but also with China.  But a key part, as you know, of our National Defense Strategy is our building and growing the strength of our relationships with our allies and partners.  Those are the key priorities for the Secretary, just like it was for previous Secretaries recently, and he intends to do all he can to ensure that our relationship with France, that is already strong, continues to grow and that France remains a partner of choice for the United States, and we look forward to hearing from his counterparts about key national security priorities for France, but also what we can be doing to support each other as we look at these mutual challenges that we share.

With that, I’m really looking forward to your questions, so I wanted to have this opportunity to see what’s on your minds as we look forward to coming to France tonight.

Question:  I just wanted to know if you will raise a question with your counterparts in London and in Paris about the negotiations of a new INF Treaty.  I think President Trump said that he wanted to include China.  And do you think that it will be necessary to include Europe in the new treaty?

And then, with the discussions also about New START that will come to an end in 2021 if I’m correct, and are the U.S. ready to open discussions with Russia also on the question?

Senior Defense Official:  We, of course, continually speak with our allies about going forward in light of the INF Treaty, our withdrawal from the Treaty.  I think it’s important to always highlight again that the alliance is very unified in recognizing that the INF Treaty was violated by the Russians, that it was no longer compatible with our security interests to stay in the treaty while Russia refused to meet its commitments.

The United States is looking at what conventional capabilities would be necessary to continue the defense of the United States, and we are at NATO having ongoing conversations with what NATO needs to do to ensure their security, our collective security in light of the Russians’ consistent violations.

Unfortunately, I think it’s premature at this stage to discuss ongoing diplomatic discussions or potential future treaty negotiations.  I would, in particular, need to defer to my State Department colleagues on the current thinking on future treaty arrangements.  I do think it’s important to highlight again that the NATO alliance was unified in recognizing that it was no longer consistent with our national security interests to remain in a treaty that the Russians consistently violated.

Unfortunately, I have to defer the New START question equally to my State Department colleagues.  I do just want to highlight that we remain committed to our treaty obligations as long as those who are in the treaty with us remain committed to theirs as well.

Question:  I just wanted to know where we are with the Gulf Protection Naval Force?  If I understand, the British were more willing to directly be involved with the Americans.  The French want some sort of a European thing working with the Americans but not part of it. Can you just fill us in on the details as to where we are on it?

Senior Defense Official:  We remain focused on ensuring the freedom of navigation in a vital chokepoint of the world.  I think we appreciate Britain’s participation with their vessel as well as their ability to coordinate and help us with our priority information-sharing which is a big part of this effort.

I just want to highlight again that from our perspective we see this as distinct from, and separate and apart from, our State Department led pressure campaign against Iran.  This is really about ensuring maritime security and freedom of navigation on which all of our economies depend.  And that is probably the main message that we are bringing to our counterparts in France when discussing this initiative.  We recognize that France has an interest in participating in freedom, bringing freedom of navigation capabilities to the Gulf, and we will be looking to find ways to harness and use that interest to better coordinate with our own initiative.

We are seeing increased interest from more than just the British. I don’t want to necessarily speak on behalf of other partners that are either about to join or have joined, but I do think we see this initiative not only having success in the sense of partner nations joining, but also actually bringing security and calm to a very vital region.

Question:  The UK there’s been dialogue between France and Britain, not in public, about France actually not just participating in this maritime security effort, but playing the lead role on the Europe side.

I just wanted to know if you’re encouraging that.  Do you think that France has the capability to be able to lead a European-led maritime security element in the Gulf which would obviously be in cooperation with the U.S.?  And kind of what sort of things will you be looking for from France on that?

Senior Defense Official:  From the Department’s perspective, France has a very capable and successful Navy that we think could bring capability to the region to help, again, to ensure freedom of navigation.

I think technologically or capability-wise in order for it to be successful, there will have to be coordination amongst our navies in the region, so we will be looking into what we can do to better coordinate and bring our militaries together in a way that multiples the capability in the region.  Recognizing that, again, the capability that France has is significant, but I do think they will, and they can play a leadership role.  But I think that they will need to be in coordination with United States capabilities in the region.

Question: Will be the Syrian file on the table during the visit?  And it will be great to have an idea on where we are on the safe zone because there has been some murmurs about the participation of Europe in this fight.

Senior Defense Official:  We refer to it as our security mechanism with Turkey.  Our key priority right now is ensuring continued dialogue and implementation of the agreement that we already have, and we are seeing successes to date.  We have opened the joint cell in Turkey already and that is operationalized, and we also have conducted joint reconnaissance missions with our Turkish colleagues.  And we are continuing to look forward to implementing future steps as we highlight to the Turks that we take very seriously their security interests in the region, at the same time protecting our ongoing need to conduct the de-ISIS campaign in northeast Syria.

I’m certain that with our French colleagues the activities and the current situation in Syria will be a topic of conversation and we will be interested in hearing from the French side on their perspective for European security, of maintaining a security mechanism with Turkey that ensures the security not only of Syria but also of Turkey and therefore Europe as well.

Question:  European defense is a tomorrow a hot topic and I was wondering how do you see this topic of European defense?

And how do you see the role of NATO in the context of the creation of the European Army?

Senior Defense Official:  This is something that the Department of Defense has consistently discussed with particularly our French counterparts.  I know it was a topic of conversation when Secretary Mattis visited with President Macron and Minister Parly when he was the Secretary.  And we’ll continue to bring our perspective, which is that European security still depends on the transatlantic alliance and that any capabilities that are developed within non-NATO European contexts, whether that be EU or otherwise, needs to be compatible and non-duplicative with NATO.

We do see positive signs of the efforts within Europe to build greater capability and capacity.  We, of course, think it’s important to continue discussing the importance of increased defense spending, but that spending is really tied to specific requirements, and that is what is required for the alliance to defend — to deter and, if necessary, defend itself.  

We are very focused on readiness.  The Secretary, especially after having served as Secretary of the Army where he was very focused on ensuring the readiness of U.S. Army forces, he’s bringing that perspective particularly into Europe and to NATO to ensure that we can do all we can to encourage our European partners to develop ready and capable forces so that we can deter, and if necessary, defend ourselves against any aggression.

So, we do see positive signs in the energy within Europe to do more in the defense sphere, but we think it’s very important that these initiatives remain consistent and compatible with NATO.  For example, we think some of the PESCO Initiatives, which is really the Military Mobility Initiative that is one of our foundational projects within Europe, is moving forward in a way that’s consistent with NATO requirements and capabilities, and therefore good for both NATO and for Europe.  And we would like further projects to have the same perspective.

Question:  The new alliance between the U.S. and the European countries to protect the Gulf region and about any kind of role to Egypt to participate in this alliance ?

Senior Defense Official:  I think in terms of what we’re seeing already is the United States and the UK have already brought capabilities to increase security in the Gulf.

In terms of Egypt’s role, I think of course you have a very important strategic participation in the region, and we very much appreciate at a bilateral level all that Egypt and the United States do together, particularly to counter mutual threats such as terrorism in the region.  And we would always be looking for what Egypt can do to bring stability to the region.

Question:  Can you clarify the stance of the U.S. government on the French initiative to open a credit line to Iran?  And especially given the news out of Tehran this morning that Tehran has reported announced to cease all their nuclear commitments under the JCPOA.

Senior Defense Official:  I’m going to, for the specifics of the credit mechanism, defer to our State Department comments that we continue to believe that we need to be enforcing our sanctions to the maximum extent possible.  We believe that the maximum pressure campaign, which is again an economic- and diplomatic-led effort, is intended to bring Iran back to the negotiating table so that we can develop a new and better deal for the security in the region.

I do believe, as our President and Secretary of State have said, that we are willing to negotiate without conditions, that in the near term we are still, we hope that Iran will take up that offer and we can bring Iran back to the negotiating table and avoid further aggression in the region.

Question: You suggested that the Defense Secretary will discuss Russia with his European partners.  I was just wondering what particular topics are going to come up, and whether the issue of Ukraine is going to be discussed ?

Senior Defense Official:  As our department has been clear, we believe that Russia’s activities in the region and around the world continues to be one of our priorities for the department, and so we will be discussing, and have been discussing, with our closest allies ways to encourage and improve our defense capabilities as an alliance in particular to deter further Russian aggression.

I think, coming after in particular the Salisbury chemical weapons attack, where we had very unified and joint international efforts to show — to highlight that such behavior is incompatible with the world system, we will continue to discuss with our partners how we can jointly improve our mutual security.

Of course, ongoing aggression in Ukraine continues to be a key aspect of our discussions and we continue to talk both at bilateral levels and at an alliance level about how we can be encouraging better behavior by Russia.

Question: I just wanted to know whether you’ll be discussing the French military operations in the Sahel and whether you’ll be bringing the sort of assurances to the French and Americans will continue to provide logistical and Afghanistan support for their mission there ?

Senior Defense Official:  We recognize the high priority of the Sahel to France, and we appreciate French leadership in the region.  In fact, I just visited Mali a few months ago and was able to talk to commanders in the field, both French as well as U.S., EU, and the UN effort there.  It’s quite an international effort to try and bring stability and security to the region.

The Department of Defense most definitely recognizes, again, the importance of the region, and security of the region to the French in particular, and we’ll always be looking for ways that we can continue our cooperation and coordination on these mutual security interests.

I think the Secretary’s going to be most interested in hearing from the French directly how they feel the operations are going and what more can be done to bring, again, to bring stability to what is a very important region.

Senior Defense Official:  I would just like to thank everybody for your time.  This is a very important trip for Secretary Esper to highlight once again the importance of these key relationships to the United States, but also to NATO.

I did want to highlight, to the question specifically about Ukraine funding, which I don’t think I answered, we are deferring all those answers to OMB in the United States.  They are available to answer that question.

In the case of North Macedonia, Russia was widely exposed as conducting malign activity and malicious cyber behavior to disrupt the referendum on the Prespa Agreement and their path to NATO membership said Major General Kirk W. Smith.

From a military perspective, the best way to counter these challenges is to demonstrate that our respective forces are ready, lethal, and able to work together as a combined joint force. What’s more, we need to make clear our relationships consist of more than just words, and we will continue to reinforce them at venues like this across Europe regularly every year.

This and similar exercises and events represent clear proof of the value that NATO and allies can bring to the Republic of North Macedonia in these challenging times. Coming from a country that is about to joint NATO and become a full member, I could not ask for a better opportunity to strengthen and establish the relationships from the deployments and training as a partner, and deepen and increase those relations, trust and our ability to work together as we are studying to become an ally.

Both Ottoman tradition and Slavic heritage provide us with the leverage to understand the complexity and dynamics among the asymmetric and near-peer threats to NATO coming from south and east , Brig. Gen. Hadji-Janev said.

Below is a full rush transcript of the press conference by  Major General Kirk W. Smith (USAF)Commander, Special Operations Command – Europe (SOCEUR) and Brigadier General Metodi Hadji-Janev Special Operations Commander Army of the Republic of North Macedonia.

Maj. Gen. Smith:  Thank you for taking the time this afternoon with us, I’m U.S. Air Force Major General Kirk Smith, Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command Europe.  In my current role I have responsibility for the employment of all U.S. Special Operations Force (SOF) forces in Europe across 51 countries in the U.S. European Command area of responsibility.

I also provide counsel on matters pertaining to Special Operations to the Commander of U.S. European Command, General Wolters, and his staff.

Earlier today General Hadji-Janev had the opportunity to observe training here at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center and we spoke to some of the 5,000 soldiers here from 21 allied and partner nations taking part in that training.  

Our focus at SOCEUR ranges from the ability to rapidly respond to a crisis, strengthening relationship with allies and partners, and bringing unique Special Operations capabilities to the overall joint force.  An exercise like Combined Resolve provides us with a venue to demonstrate our capability and get better at all three of those focus areas.

No nation can face today’s challenges alone, and we’ve seen from recent conflicts we’re stronger as an alliance and as a coalition.  In a complex environment against a near-peer adversary, Special Operations are an integrate support effort to a much larger combined joint warfighting picture.  

Every time U.S. Army Europe puts together an exercise like Combined Resolve, it’s a vital opportunity for U.S. SOF and the SOF of our allies and partners to work alongside the conventional force, train together, refine our techniques and procedures, and build and mature our relationships.  To that effort, we have a team embedded here at JMRC [Joint Multinational Readiness Center] that helps develop the scenarios and bring in U.S., NATO and partner SOF to ensure we’re providing training that integrates SOF and the conventional forces.  In Combined Resolve XII alone we have Bulgarian, Ukrainian, and U.S. Special Operations Forces working together along with National Defense Forces of Lithuania.

I’ve said before that what happens in places like Afghanistan doesn’t stay there.  The relationships that we build from combat or peacekeeping operations stay with us.  They deepen and increase trust and our ability to work together.  We must, however, keep them fresh and build on them through exercises like this.  In fact, this is the second time in two months that I’ve had the opportunity to observe General Hadji-Janev’s Special Operations forces alongside ours, other NATO allies, and partners — the first being in Hungary in late June as part of our command’s Trojan Footprint South exercise.

In particular, North Macedonian forces, both SOF and conventional, have been strong contributors to NATO missions in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kosovo.  They have deployed around 4,000 soldiers since 2002 in total.  They are a very capable and professional force.  I look forward to continued opportunities for our forces to work together, particularly as they complete the NATO accession process.

As we look across Europe, we see that our adversaries are challenging national sovereignty, our alliances and partnerships, and the commitment of the United States to Europe.  In the case of North Macedonia, Russia was widely exposed as conducting malign activity and malicious cyber behavior to disrupt the referendum on the Prespa Agreement and their path to NATO membership.

From a military perspective, the best way to counter these challenges is to demonstrate that our respective forces are ready, lethal, and able to work together as a combined joint force.  What’s more, we need to make clear our relationships consist of more than just words, and we will continue to reinforce them at venues like this across Europe regularly every year.

Brig. Gen. Hadji-Janev:  I’m Brigadier General Hadji-Janev, the Commander of the Republic of North Macedonia Special Operation Regiment.  I am responsible for the readiness and deployment of North Macedonia’s Special Operations forces in peace, crisis, and war.

This and similar exercises and events represent clear proof of the value that NATO and allies can bring to the Republic of North Macedonia in these challenging times.  Coming from a country that is about to joint NATO and become a full member, I could not ask for a better opportunity to strengthen and establish the relationships from the deployments and training as a partner, and deepen and increase those relations, trust and our ability to work together as we are studying to become an ally.

As Major General Smith mentioned earlier, he and I observed the training here at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center which allowed me to learn more from the first hand that my SF operators can meet required rigorous criteria in a future engagement.  Moreover, I had the opportunity to witness that working with allies improves our readiness and ability to fight but also on a long-run engagement like this, among others, ensure our stability and security.  Put differently, Exercise Combined Resolve for us provides a venue to test and improve our Special Operations capability integrated with conventional forces metrics and priorities.  We learn from each other, build a brothers-in-arms type of network, and improve our ability to fight in a coalition.

Rest assured that we in the Republic of North Macedonia are totally aware that we are a small nation and that we don’t have all of the resources, mass, or firepower that some of our allies have.  However, from the past deployment with NATO, we’ve proved that we can bring two important elements to the fight.  

The contemporary security environment is complex and unpredictable, filled with hybrid and asymmetric-based threat vectors which uniquely endanger Euro-Atlantic values and thus threatened our security and stability.  Human capital and cross-cultural competencies have proven so far that while the key requirements for the operators on the ground in confronting these challenges.  Both Ottoman tradition and Slavic heritage provide us with the leverage to understand the complexity and dynamics among the asymmetric and near-peer threats to NATO coming from south and east.

At the end, I would like to assure you that we will stay committed to future engagement and prove that our relationships consist of more than just words.

Thank-you all for taking the time from your day to speak with us here in Hohenfels.

Question :  What role were Special Operations Forces playing in the exercise?

Maj. Gen. Smith:  I’ll start, Major General Smith.

As I mentioned in some of the comments at the beginning, what’s really important about this is the SOF, and in this case, U.S. SOF working with partners’ and allies’ SOF and specifically how do we integrate that in to what the conventional forces are doing.  So SOF has always had niche capabilities, things that we are specially trained in doing, whether that’s some type of reconnaissance or observation, and then we can tie that back into the conventional force.  That’s where we look for opportunities like this, Combined Resolve, where we have the opportunity to not just work with U.S. conventional forces, but to work with our allies and partners’ SOF and then with the allies and partner conventional forces that are participating as well.  Thank you.

Question:  How does the exercise for North Macedonia fit into the preparation to become a member? I saw that Kosovo is one of the participating countries.  I was wondering what their role is ?

Brig. Gen. Hadji-Janev:  This is Brigadier General Hadji-Janev speaking.  As it comes to North Macedonia, this exercise actually is a great value because it contributes to our interoperability, readiness, and integration with NATO allies.  And when it comes specifically to the Special Operations regimen, it helps us in building capacity, working along with the conventional forces and with the alliance Special Operations Forces.

Maj. Gen. Smith:  Major General Smith.  To follow up on the Kosovo question, they are a participant on the conventional side, not on the SOF side.  And I think it probably just goes to, again, some of the opening comments that any opportunity for allies and partners to work together, interoperability, understand each other’s tactics, techniques, and procedures, builds a stronger partnership and a lot of this is really always about building relationships in this type of a phase, in this type of an environment where we can learn lessons and improve upon those. 

Question: From a military perspective could it be wise to send more U.S. troops in the East to ensure credible deterrence against Russia?

Maj. Gen. Smith:  At the military-to-military level where I kind of stay engaged, we obviously in SOCEUR have a presence throughout all of Europe.  Some of that is episodic, some of that is more permanent in terms of a rotational form, if you will.  

We are engaged with U.S. European Command as they work through with our Department of Defense and with the government of Poland on what that final posture may look like in Poland, and we’re part of that conversation.  But really, from my perspective, we see the value of where we have forces spread throughout Europe.  Sometimes it may be for a couple of weeks at a time.  Sometimes it may be for months at a time based on who we’re working with and what effects we’re trying to have.

Question:  What’s Turkey’s role in Exercise Combined Resolve?  And if you have any sort of information on the current Russian interference in North Macedonian policies and politics ?

Maj. Gen. Smith:  I’ll answer the first piece.  Turkey is not participating in this exercise.  But within Special Operations Command-Europe we continue to always engage in our mil-to-mil relationship and we look for opportunities and have been working with the Turkish SOF community on future opportunities to do the exact same thing while not in this particular exercise, but we’ll work on interoperability.

I’ll leave the second question for General Hadji-Janev.

Brig. Gen. Hadji-Janev:  Thank you.  General Hadji-Janev speaking.

As it comes to Russian interference in North Macedonia, I would say it is hard to prove of any direct involvement in terms of an intervention.  However, there are many evidences that Russia has exploited diplomatic channels, but more vigorously explaining information channels via several proxy media that are very active on our different social platforms on-line in order to create a narrative, and both exploiting different challenges and vulnerabilities against Euro-Atlantic integration.

I believe that answers your question.

Question:  Do you have any indication when the ratification protocol for NATO will be completed in the Congress?  And if the membership of North Macedonia in December not happen because of the situation in Spain, when will be the next chance for that? 

Maj. Gen. Smith:  A little bit outside of kind of my expertise.  My understanding is it continues through the process within our government, and that we kind of continue to follow that and stay engaged.  To be honest with you, at the military-to-military relationship, we continue those engagements through exercises like this as that process continues.

Question:  How many troops from North Macedonia will take part in the exercise?  Or are taking part in the exercise?

Brig. Gen. Hadji-Janev:  We have about 50 personnel that is part of this exercise coming from North Macedonia.

Question:  Are there any Russian reactions to the advancing interoperability of the North Macedonia Armed Forces of NATO?  And what is the role of Greece in that cooperation?

Brig. Gen. Hadji-Janev:  Thank-you very much.  General Hadji-Janev speaking.  

I think I answered first about Russian interference with North Macedonian political and military affairs.  

And I refer to the second part, after the political leaders of both countries resolved the main issue, basically opened the door for mil-to-mil cooperation and operation cooperation.  And just an example, earlier in June this year, Greek Special Operation Forces had the opportunity to see from firsthand about the readiness and ability to cooperate, so we, with my host, the Greek Special Operations Forces Commander, we have great talks and discuss future cooperation and engagement which basically promised a lot in strengthening our partnership to NATO.

Question:  What does this exercise mean for the whole region, especially for Kosovo?

Maj. Gen. Smith:  I think, this is Major General Smith speaking, so I think what the exercise does is it highlights the, again, the idea that as an alliance we are more successful, we are more cooperative when we contribute and participate in exercises like this.  It shows how we can work with each other and play off of each other’s strengths.  Some nations obviously have some capabilities that others don’t.  As General Hadji-Janev mentioned earlier, some nations have more capacity than others, and the ability to bring all of those different nations together, leverage those that have a particular skill or particular capacity in a certain area, and it just collectively brings the region, in this case, more secure by showing a united front.

Question: Do you think that there is a discipline or ethics problem in the SEAL units?  Is the relative lack of money in UK and Australian Special Forces compared to JSOC likely to limit operational compatibility?

Maj. Gen. Smith:  On the second part first, again, Major General Smith, I’m not really qualified.  I’d probably defer that to the UK Ministry of Defence or Australian Defence Ministry on terms of how they view that.

For the first part of the question, U.S. Special Operations Command has undertaken an in-depth study of the culture and ethics within SOF.  We participate in that as a subordinate organization of both European Command and U.S. Special Operations Command, and I would probably defer any specific information they’re looking for to U.S. Special Operations Command.

Maj. Gen. Smith:  No, thank-you very much for the time, everybody.  We appreciate you participating.  Thank-you.

Brig. Gen. Hadji-Janev:  Brigadier General Hadji-Janev speaking.  Thank you all for taking the time for you to speak with us, and share our thoughts.