EUCOM commemorates 49th year
with two-mile fun run
By David Josar,
Stuttgart bureau
David Josar / Stars and Stripes
Navy Capt. Greg Hawkins prepares to run 2 miles Wednesday with an inflatable shark
to commemorate the 49th anniversary of the U.S. European Command. Hawkins recently carried
the shark, nicknamed "Chris," to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. About
300 runners participated in the event on Patch Barracks in Stuttgart, Germany. |
STUTTGART, Germany — About 300 men and women went on a two-mile
run Wednesday around Patch Barracks, home of the U.S. European Command, to mark
EUCOM’s 49th anniversary.
It’s not just a job. You are making a difference in the
world,” said Gen. Carlton Fulford, deputy commander for the U.S. European Command, to
the runners after they completed the circuit.
EUCOM’s role, Fulford said, has changed over the decades from
maintaining a U.S. presence in Europe during the Cold War to conducting peacekeeping and
humanitarian assistance missions.
“We are looked to as being the best in the world,” he said.
EUCOM was created on Aug. 1, 1952, to form a joint command under one
commander responsible for the conduct of the military operations of land, naval and air
forces, said Maj. Ed Loomis, a EUCOM spokesman.
The first EUCOM commander was Gen. Matthew B. Ridgeway. The current
EUCOM commander is Gen. Joseph Ralston.
The first EUCOM headquarters was in Frankfurt; in 1954 it was moved
to the outskirts of Paris. EUCOM moved to its current location in 1967 after French
President Charles de Gaulle asked the United States to leave.
EUCOM’s area of responsibility has shifted and grown too. In
1952 it covered continental Europe, the United Kingdom, North Africa and Turkey. Now it
also includes the Mediterranean Sea and much of Africa.
David Josar / Stars and Stripes
About 300 people participated in a commemorative two-mile run in Stuttgart, Germany, on
Wednesday. |
Loomis said EUCOM once averaged about 20 deployments each decade for
humanitarian and disaster relief and other contingency operations.
Since 1990, EUCOM has been involved with about 80 such operations.
Carol Parks, command historian for EUCOM, said pivotal changes for
EUCOM included the Cold War, the deployment of Pershing II and other missiles in Europe
during the 1980s to face off with Soviet SS-20 missiles in Eastern Europe, and the fall of
the Berlin Wall.
The latest test has been the Balkans, she said.
The 49th anniversary was marked as a casual family gathering, Parks
said, adding that the 50th milestone will be celebrated more formally.
Runners began arriving around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday at Husky Field, and
they broke into groups that represented the EUCOM divisions where they worked.
Some groups were serious, doing jumping jacks to a strict four-count
to prepare for the brisk run that was completed in about 15 minutes.
Others were more light-hearted.
Capt. Greg Hawkins, of EUCOM’s plans and policy division, held
onto a human-size inflatable shark he balanced on his head.
Hawkins said the gray shark, nicknamed “Chris,” is a
good-luck sidekick he carried with him last month when he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in
northeast Africa.
During the run, the shark was passed to fellow runners.
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