LANDCOM general visits 1st Cav

Lt. Gen. Frederick Hodges (right), commanding general for NATO's Allied Land Command, chats with Lt. Col. Kirk Luedeke (left), public affairs officer for the 1st Cavalry Division, after a meeting with a few leaders of the division April 6 at the Cav's Headquarters at Fort Hood, Texas. (Photo by Sgt. Kim Browne, 1st Cavalry Division PAO)

 By Sgt. Kim Browne
1st Cav. Div. Public Affairs

FORT HOOD, Texas - NATO is an active and leading advocate for peace and security on the international stage. Through its many operations, the Alliance has proved both its willingness to act as a positive force for change today and its capacity to  anticipate the security challenges of  the future.

Lt. Gen. Frederick B. Hodges, commanding general for NATO’s Allied Land Command in Izmir, Turkey, presented an orientation and briefing April 6 here to officers and leaders of the 1st Cavalry Division about the activation of LANDCOM and NATO’s Command Structure transformations.

As part of NATO’s vision to reflect the realities of economic austerity and next year’s transition in the Afghan theater, the NCS streamlined its organization from 11 to six headquarters.  LANDCOM was activated on Nov. 30, 2012, replacing the two land component commands in Heidelberg, Germany and Madrid, Spain, and retains sole responsibility for the standardization and interoperability of all land forces from the 28 member nations that comprise the most successful alliance in history.

“My headquarters exists primarily to ensure that we retain the effectiveness and interoperability of all NATO land forces,” Hodges said. “NATO has become more active in preventing conflict rather than waiting to be attacked.”

Before his arrival to Fort Hood, Hodges visited the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., to talk to the students and see what capabilities the U.S. Army has for training and doctrine.

Hodges discussed many of the changes the Alliance is making, such as the U.S. Army collaborating with LANDCOM and regionally aligning NATO land forces around the globe.

“The 1st Cavalry Division could potentially have a role in the Regionally Aligned Force, so I wanted to come talk to the commander, talk to the leaders and see how they were training and preparing,” Hodges said.

RAF is a concept to develop innovative new approaches for helping entire units to work with and among partner nation security forces.

“The Alliance realized that it had to transform for life after (International Security Assistance Force), post-2014, so it could meet the security requirements of its member nations, but at an affordable, sustainable level,” Hodges said   

Since NATO’s creation just after WWII, the first several decades of NATO’s existence saw a focus on training and preparation for potential conflict with the Soviet Union, but with the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact nations, its focus changed to territorial integrity       

Following the end of the Cold War, the Bosnian support and stability mission in the 1990’s, known as Operation Joint Endeavor, was the first time NATO had assisted a country that was not a NATO member.  

The 9/11 attacks on the U.S. in 2001, was the first time in the Alliance’s history that Article 5 of the NATO treaty (“An attack on one is an attack on all”) has ever been invoked. Since then, NATO has had forces deployed to Afghanistan to lead ISAF, while conducting anti-piracy, air policing and other contingency operations around the globe.

“NATO exists to ensure the security of all of its member nations,” he added. “We must never lose our capability of reacting quickly because we enjoy a long and successful history of training, exercising and deploying together.”

“Unless we are responding to a direct attack on our soil, the U.S. Army cannot conduct large-scale, sustained operations alone in multiple theaters, nor should we,” he concluded.

Lt. Gen. Frederick Hodges (right), commanding general for NATO's Allied Land Command, and Maj. Gen. Anthony Ierardi (left), commanding general for the 1st Cavalry Division, pause for a photo after Hodges met with Ierardi and other Cav Troopers April 6 at the division's headquarters at Fort Hood, Texas. (Photo by Sgt. Kim Browne, 1st Cavalry Division PAO)