By Admiral James G. Stavridis, USN
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About the Author
Admiral James G. Stavridis, USN, assumed duties as Commander of the United States European Command and as the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe in 2009. From 2006 to 2009, he commanded U.S. Southern Command in Miami, focused on Latin America and the Caribbean.
ADM Stavridis is a 1976 distinguished graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a native of South Florida. A Surface Warfare Officer, he commanded the Destroyer USS Barry (DDG 52) from 1993 to 1995, completing UN/NATO deployments to Haiti and Bosnia, and a combat cruise to the Arabian Gulf. Barry won the Battenberg Cup as the top ship in the Atlantic Fleet under his command. In 1998, ADM Stavridis commanded Destroyer Squadron 21 and deployed to the Arabian Gulf, winning the Navy League’s John Paul Jones Award for Inspirational Leadership. From 2002 to 2004, he commanded Enterprise Carrier Strike Group, conducting combat operations in the Arabian Gulf in support of both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Ashore, he has served as a strategic and long range planner on the staffs of the Chief of Naval Operations and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He has also served as the Executive Assistant to the Secretary of the Navy and the Senior Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense.
ADM Stavridis earned a PhD and MALD in International Relations from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, where he won the Gullion Prize as outstanding student. He is also a distinguished graduate of both the National and Naval War Colleges. He holds various decorations and awards, including two awards of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, and five awards of the Legion of Merit. He is author or coauthor of numerous articles and several books on naval ship handling and leadership, including Command at Sea and Destroyer Captain.