The National Guard, Promoting United States National Security

When the Berlin Wall crumbled, the entire nature and purpose of the security arrangement in Europe drasticallly changed. No longer was the goal of United States European Command (USEUCOM) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to stop East Bloc T-72 tanks from rolling through the Fulda Gap. Rather, the West had to rapidly transform its framework and focus to enhance democracy and free markets throughout Europe in an effort to maintain stability on the entire European continent. Fortunately for the United States and its transatlantic allies in NATO, these goals and values were widely shared.USEUCOM has developed a variety of peacetime programs to directly engage the Newly Independent States in Eastern Europe. Three of the most successful programs are administered by different entities but operationally create a synergistic effect that helps keep the peace and promises to provide an even more stable and prosperous future for all of Europe.