Erik Slavin

Erik Slavin is the bureau chief for the European and Middle Eastern theaters of operation. Slavin previously reported on military matters in the Pacific region from Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan.

Rushing water spins a wheel and gives diners a conversation piece in Meisenheim, Germany.
<br>Erik Slavin/Stars and Stripes

Meisenheim is postcard perfect and a nice place to make a pit stop

Not far from Kaiserslautern, there’s a fairy-tale village penetrable only to those who possess a pure heart — and a GPS and some cash.

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Japanese food doesn’t get better than this in southwestern Germany

There are no dragon rolls at Hashimoto.

Some toys for girls from the first decade of the 1900s, including this doll ironing and doing laundry, drive home just how much the concept of playtime has changed over the years. The doll is part of the permanent exhibit at the Nuremberg Toy Museum in Germany.<br>Erik Slavin/Stars and Stripes

Nuremberg Toy Museum explores change through our playthings

Playtime for the average middle-class kid once meant preparation for work as an adult.

Retired Gen. Frederick Kroesen, former commander of U.S. Army Europe, died April 30, 2020, at 97.
<br>U.S. Army

Retired Gen. Frederick Kroesen, whose career spanned from WWII to the late Cold War, dies at 97

Retired Gen. Frederick Kroesen fought in Korea and Vietnam, and served as Army vice chief of staff during his 40-year career. He died at the age of 97.

The Piazza di Signori, the normally bustling main square in downtown Vicenza, was nearly empty on March 3, 2020, as coronavirus cases in Italy, continued to grow. On Friday, Italy further restricted public movement and banned outdoor exercise.<br>Nancy Montgomery/Stars and Stripes

Germany limits public gatherings, Italy bans outdoor exercise in fight against pandemic

Tens of thousands of U.S. military personnel and their families are among the millions living under new restrictions on activity in Germany and Italy, as the two countries grapple with containing the spread of the coronavirus.

The smoky, marjoram-laced links at Bratwursthausle pare very well with sauerkraut and a vinegar-based potato salad.<br>Erik Slavin/Stars and Stripes

Bratwursthausle or Roeslein: Who will win between these Nuremberg bratwurst kings?

Nuremberg’s bratwurst is a pretty big deal in Germany’s vast pantheon of sausages.

The 13th century Notre Dame Cathedral in Bayeux, France, towers over the streets of the city, as seen from a peaceful park.<br>Michael Abrams/Stars and Stripes

While visiting the D-Day beaches, check out nearby Bayeux

The 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy will bring vast numbers of visitors to the memorials and sites along the invasion beaches, where some of the last veterans alive who helped win World War II will be honored.

Maj. Gen. Allan Elliott receives honors at his March 28, 2019, retirement from Army Materiel Command Gen. Gus Perna, who officiated at the ceremony. The Army may need to pay a larger midcareer incentive to retain officers under the newly introduced blended retirement system, according to a Rand Corp. report.<br>Doug Brewster/U.S. Army

Army may need bigger retirement plan perk to sustain officer experience levels, study says

The study comes as the Army moves away from its legacy retirement system, which pays a larger guaranteed amount to soldiers after at least 20 years of service, to a blended system that pays out after less time served.

The Asian plate at Fisch Schira in Kaiserslautern, Germany, includes a piece or perch, another of salmon, pad thai and two shrimp, with an option of two spring rolls added.<br>Erik Slavin/Stars and Stripes

Kaiserslautern’s Fisch Schira is a seafood oasis in the landlocked German Pfalz

Living in the Kaiserslautern area is an adjustment for anyone who grew up by the water. The Rhine and a few tributaries aren’t a long drive, and there’s a lake or two nestled in the vast forests of the Pfalz. They’re nice, but surfing is out, and for the most part, so is good seafood.

The block indicating whether sailors should receive an "early promote" or a lesser designation when ranked against their immediate peers is going away under plans for a new evaluation system for sailors.<br>Joshua Karsten/Stars and Stripes

The end of allcaps and !!!! in performance reviews gains support from sailors

The Navy’s new annual performance evaluation will be missing several exclamation points, lots of capital letters and a rating block system that some sailors said allows lesser performers to advance because they aren’t being compared broadly enough with their peers.

A U.S. Navy EP-3E Aries II assigned to Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 1 flies over the Persian Gulf in April 2016. Navy officials said a Russian SU-27 fighter jet flew dangerously close to a Navy EP-3 Aries in international airspace over the Black Sea, Monday, Nov. 5, 2018.<br>U.S. NAVY

Russian jet flies dangerously close to Navy aircraft during Black Sea operations

Two unsafe passes by a Russian fighter jet put a U.S. military aircraft at risk during flight operations over the Black Sea, Navy officials said Monday.

In July 1946, the German cruiser Prinz Eugen survived damaged but relatively intact during the Baker nuclear test at Bikini Atoll. On Oct. 15, 2018, Navy divers from Mobile Diving Salvage Unit 1 finished removing most of the oil from the capsized World War II ship.<br>Courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

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Navy recovers fuel from sunken ship once used for atomic bomb practice

Navy divers finished recovering an estimated 250,000 gallons of oil Monday from a captured warship that survived World War II and two atomic bomb tests before sinking 72 years ago.

Brig. Gen. Paul W. Tibbets IV<br>U.S. Air Force

Air Force general to retire after probe finds misconduct

Brig. Gen. Paul W. Tibbets IV will retire on Dec. 1, after not being allowed to pin on his second star and receiving a letter of admonishment, an Air Force spokeswoman said in response to a Stars and Stripes query Thursday.

Fleet Master Chief Russell Smith.<br>U.S. Navy

Navy names new top enlisted leader

Fleet Master Chief Petty Officer Russell Smith's selection comes following the announced retirement of Steven Giordano as the Navy’s top enlisted leader in June, amid allegations that he fostered a hostile work environment in his office.

Julius "Henry" Pieper, left, and Ludwig "Louie" Pieper are shown in this undated World War II-era photo. <br>Courtesy of Creston, Neb., Q125 History Book

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Death at sea separated these twins 74 years ago. Now they're back together.

The brothers' burial together in Normandy is a culmination of improbable events that included the review of a grave marked “unknown” in Belgium, a high school history project, a military forensics team review and a family gathering in Nebraska.

Kubasaki High School at Camp Foster, Okinawa.<br>Courtesy of DODEA

Possible shooter threat cancels classes at Okinawa base schools

Schools officials later reported no serious threats at either Kubasaki High School on Camp Foster or at Kadena High School at Kadena Air Base after threatening graffiti sparked fears of potential shooting incidents.

The future USS Delbert D. Black will be christened at the Huntington Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss., on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017. <br>U.S. Navy

Navy to christen first ship named after top enlisted leader

The first ship to bear the name of a master chief petty officer of the Navy will be christened at the Huntington Ingalls shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss., on Saturday.

The stateroom of the USS Fitzgerald's stateroom as seen from the exterior of the ship after its collision on June 21, 2017.<br>U.S. Navy

Report: Bridge, crewmembers' errors led to deaths aboard 2 Navy destroyers

The two collisions that killed a combined 17 sailors aboard the destroyers USS Fitzgerald and USS John S. McCain resulted from sailors not following procedures and lack of communication between officers and the rest of the ship, a Navy report released Wednesday concluded.

Keisuke Ohta, manager of Bar Sea Guardian II at the Hotel New Grand in Yokohama, Japan, holds the bottle found by construction workers during the hotel's recent renovation. Inside the bottle is the business card for Lt. Col. Eugene J. McNamara, a guest during the post-World War II occupation. The hotel would like to find McNamara's family.<br>Erik Slavin/Stars and Stripes

Card in a bottle sparks 70-year-old Army mystery in Japan

Using a whiskey bottle, a business card and some rudimentary carpentry, Lt. Col. Eugene J. McNamara found a way to be remembered.

The USS Shiloh in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region on March 23, 2014.<br>David Flewellyn/U.S. Navy photo

Search for missing USS Shiloh sailor suspended after exhaustive effort

The Navy and Japan Coast Guard suspended their search at midnight Sunday for a USS Shiloh sailor who officials say likely fell overboard in the Western Pacific this past week.

Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka shut down Ikego Elementary School's water fountains and began providing bottled water in April.<br>Courtesy of DODEA

Lead detected in water at Navy elementary school in Japan

Water fixtures at the Navy’s Ikego Elementary School in Japan have again registered high levels of lead, though officials say families thus far appear to be unaffected following voluntary blood testing.

The USS Carl Vinson conducts operations alongside the USS Ronald Reagan in the Sea of Japan June 1, 2017. <br>Z.A. Landers/U.S. Navy

Reagan, Vinson carrier groups team with Japanese off Korean Peninsula; Nimitz on its way

The USS Ronald Reagan and USS Carl Vinson strike groups operated in formation alongside Japanese forces in waters near the Korean Peninsula Thursday, marking the largest display yet of naval power in response to North Korea’s recent ballistic missile tests.

Attorney Tim Bilecki announces the not-guilty verdict his client, Navy Lt. Stephen Kimball, received during an attempted sexual assault trial in Yokosuka, Japan, on Thursday, May 25, 2017.<br>Bilecki & Tippon/Facebook

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Navy officer cleared of attempted teen sex-assault charges by military jury

A Navy officer accused of attempted sexual assault of a minor following an Okinawa sting operation was acquitted of five related charges by a court martial jury on Thursday.

Rear Adm. Phillip G. Sawyer, deputy commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, shown here in 2016 talking with a reporter in Albuquerque, N.M., was nominated by the Navy to assume command of the U.S. 7th Fleet on May 17, 2017.
<br>Mickey Treigle/U.S. Navy photo

Sawyer nominated to head Yokosuka-based 7th Fleet

Rear Adm. Phillip Sawyer is currently the deputy commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, headquartered in Hawaii. His experience includes command of Pacific Fleet’s submarine forces, as well as an earlier command of the Yokosuka-based submarine Group 7.

Aryanna Abriam, 10, right, and Ailani Abriam, 4, left, wave goodbye to their father as the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan prepares to depart Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, Tuesday, May 16, 2017.<br>Erik Slavin/Stars and Stripes

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USS Ronald Reagan now underway on patrol amid uncertainty in Asia

The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan departed its Yokosuka homeport Tuesday for a scheduled patrol of the Asia-Pacific region, amid concerns about North Korea and questions about how the White House will address China’s claims to the South China Sea.

The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan transits waters surrounding the Korean peninsula during Exercise Invincible Spirit in October.<br>Nathan Burke/U.S. Navy

USS Ronald Reagan patrol delayed by repair issue

The USS Ronald Reagan’s departure has been delayed due to an unspecified issue aboard the aircraft carrier, Navy officials said Monday.

The guided-missile destroyer USS Decatur transits the South China Sea as part of the Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group, Oct. 13, 2016.<br>Diana Quinlan/U.S. Navy

Despite Navy requests, no operations near disputed South China Sea islands

The U.S. military hasn’t announced any freedom-of-navigation operations in the South China Sea since last year, signaling a break from earlier Trump administration rhetoric on curbing China’s ambitions.

Elements of the USS Carl Vinson strike group trained with allies west of the Korean peninsula and south of Japan in March.<br> Z.A. Landers/U.S. Navy photo

Vinson strike group aircraft, ships train while drawing closer to Korean Peninsula

Elements of the USS Carl Vinson strike group trained with allies west of the Korean Peninsula and south of Japan on Wednesday, as the United States continues to watch for signs of an imminent nuclear weapons test from North Korea.

The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson transits the Indian Ocean, Saturday, April 15, 2017.<br>Matt Brown/U.S. Navy

Pence: Carrier group will arrive near Korean Peninsula within days

The USS Carl Vinson strike group will be near South Korea “in a matter of days,” Vice President Mike Pence said Saturday as concerns over a potential North Korean nuclear weapons test continue to mount in the Asia-Pacific region.