POZNAN, Poland—Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, commanding general,

POZNAN, Poland—Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, commanding general, U.S. Army Europe, and Maj. Gen. Jaroslaw Mika, general commander, Polish Armed Forces (PAF), affirm U.S. Army and PAF’s collaboration to improve readiness and interoperability after signing the PAF Noncommissioned Officer Corps assessment at the 14th Military Business Division. A combined effort between U.S. Army and PAF, the assessment identified several key aspects of empowering and strengthening the Polish NCO Corps to enhance readiness, increase efficiencies in resource management and ensure competency and professionalism within the PAF14th Military Business District in Poznan, Poland May 14, 2017. Hodges also visited the new Mission Command Element headquarters collocated on the base. The MCE recently relocated from Baumholder, Germany to Poznan, Poland to increase the U.S. Army's capacity to provide mission command for deployed units in eastern Europe and enhance NATO Allies and Partners' capability to deter and defend against any adversarial threat and respond to any crises. Providing mission command of U.S. forces deployed to eastern Europe in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve, the MCE serves as the intermediate headquarters for more than 6,000 service members conducting bilateral training operations and multinational exercises with host nation defense forces in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. The relocation of the tactical division
headquarters to Poland enhances mission command of U.S. rotational forces and units assigned deployed to support NATO Allies and Partners preparedness to respond to any threat or crisis. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Diandra J. Harrell, MCE Public Affairs Office)
(U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Diandra J. Harrell. MCE-AR Public Affairs)