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Admiral Stavridis visits Slovenia for the first time as SACEUR

13 Nov 2009

Supreme Allied Commander, Adm. James Stavridis, meets with Slovenia’s Minister of Defense, Dr. Ljubica Jelusic, on November 12, 2009. Admiral James Stavridis, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), visited Slovenia 12 – 13 November where he met Dr. Ljubica Jelušič, Minister of Defence, and Major General Alojz Šteiner, Chief of Defence of the Slovenian Armed Forces.

Admiral Stavridis continues a series of visits to NATO capitals which started soon after he became the SACEUR in June. On November 12 and 13, he visited the Republic of Slovenia.

Following Stavridis' arrival at Brnik Airport where he was met by Brigadier General Branimir Furlan, Deputy Chief of Defence, he toured the Old City Centre of Ljubljana before visiting the Ministry of Defence for an office call with the Minister of Defence, Dr. Ljubica Jelušič.

The following day, Stavridis and Šteiner visited the Joint Forces Command Headquarters in Vrhinika to view a display of military equipment and be briefed on the Slovenian Armed Forces.

Since 29 March 2004, when it formally joined NATO, Slovenia has become an invaluable member of the Alliance participating in NATO working bodies, deploying personnel to various NATO Headquarters, and contributing troops to ISAF, Iraq, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and KFOR missions. In this short time the Slovenian Armed Forces have become a modern, professional and well respected military and in February 2010 Slovenia will have concluded the process of integration in the Alliance.

Before departing Adm. Stavridis indicated his pleasure with the productive talks and impressions from this visit and expressed his gratitude to the people of Slovenia for their enthusiasm and warm welcome.

Slovenia - Supreme Allied Commander, Adm. James Stavridis, meets with Slovenia’s Minister of Defense, Dr. Ljubica Jelusic, on November 12, 2009. This was the first official visit for the Admiral and also an opportunity to meet with a SECGEN-appointed group of experts to continue discussions on NATO’s opportunities and how they should be addressed.
Supreme Allied Commander, Admiral James G. Stavridis, recieves an operation tour from the troops at the Slovenian Armed Forces, Joint Forces Command Headquarters in Vrhnika, Slovenia. The Admiral made a two day visit to the country to meet with its' top defense leaders.
Supreme Allied Commander, Admiral James G. Stavridis, shakes hands with the Explosive Ordinance Disposal team member from the Slovenian Armed Forces, Joint Forces Command Headquarters in Vrhnika, Slovenia. The Admiral made a two day visit to the country to meet with its' top defense leaders.
Supreme Allied Commander, Admiral James G. Stavridis, tries on Explosive Ordinance Disposal safety boots used by Joint Forces Command of the Slovenian Armed Forces in Vrhinka, Slovenia. The Admiral recieved an operations tour of Joint Forces unit during his teo day visit to the country.