United States European Command | |
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Active | 1 August 1952 – present |
Country | United States of America |
Type | Unified Combatant Command |
Part of | Department of Defense |
Headquarters | Patch Barracks, Stuttgart-Vaihingen |
Commanders | |
Commander | General Curtis M. Scaparrotti, USA |
Deputy Commander | Lieutenant General Timothy Ray, United States Air Force |
The United States European Command (EUCOM) is one of nine Unified Combatant Commands of the United States military, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its area of focus covers 21,000,000 square miles (54,000,000 km2) and 51 countries and territories, including Europe, Russia, Greenland, and Israel. The Commander of the United States EUCOM simultaneously serves as the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR) within NATO—an intergovernmental military alliance. During the Gulf War and Operation Northern Watch, EUCOM controlled the forces flying from Incirlik Air Base.
Prior to 1952, the title "European Command (EUCOM)" referred to a single-service, United States Army command. The senior U.S. Army administrative command in the European region had previously been designated European Theater of Operations United States Army (ETOUSA) from 8 June 1942 – 1 July 1945; USFET from 1 July 1945 – 15 March 1947; and then EUCOM 15 March 1947 – 1 August 1952.
The first unified command in the European area was established by the Joint Chiefs of Staff on 1 August 1952. Designated the U.S. European Command (USEUCOM), it was established to provide "unified command and authority" over all U.S. forces in Europe. Prior to 1 August 1952, the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Army presence in Europe maintained separate commands that reported directly to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The respective titles of the service commands were: Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE); Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Naval Forces, Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean; and Commander-in-Chief, U.S. European Command. In line with the creation of the joint-service European Command, the Army command in Europe was redesignated U.S. Army Europe on 1 August 1952.