Gen. Lance L. Smith took command of NATO's Allied Command Transformation and U.S. Joint Forces Command during an assumption ceremony aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower at the Norfolk Naval Station here.

General Smith assumed his duties Nov. 10. He thanked the personnel of both commands for their efforts in transforming NATO and U.S. forces.

"This is the first time an Air Force general has taken command of two commands typically led by admirals," General Smith said. "I hope you don't see this as sacrilege. I see it as a sign of how far we have come."

Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said, "There is no human being on this earth I would rather have take this command than General Smith.

“This warrior brings enormous experience to these commands,” the general said. “He brings great intellect, wisdom and tenacity and he will have need of all of them."

General Pace said the importance of both commands in bringing together different branches and different nations to achieve a joint mission.

He said the commands “are natural partners in all we have done up to today and what we must do for the future. There is no country so large and powerful that it can do this alone and no country so small that it cannot contribute."

As NATO's ACT strategic commander, General Smith will lead transformation within the alliance through concept development and military experimentation. ACT's employment of an effects-based approach to operations involves a comprehensive and integrated application of all instruments of alliance power.

Transformation within national forces and those of NATO partners, a key element of the command's mission, relies upon robust research and technology combined with new concepts and doctrine for increased force interoperability. ACT is responsible for joint training and doctrine development within the alliance as well as for joint doctrine for and direction of NATO schools and colleges.

The general will oversee the joint forces command's roles in transformation, experimentation, joint training, interoperability and force provision and management as outlined in the Department of Defense's Unified Command Plan.

JFCOM is a force of more than 1.16 million active and reserve Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines, spanning the command's four service component commands and eight subordinate activities. It has members from each branch of the U.S. military, civil servants, contract employees and consultants.

General Smith emphasized the importance of junior military members in achieving the commands' goals. The new generation of military personnel is an excellent fit for the mission of transformation, he said.

"This generation is not familiar with three words that we come across far too often: 'we used to,'" he said. "They are focused on the new enemies that face us. There is no going back to the way we used to be. Transforming is not about doing the same things better, but doing better things."

(Courtesy of American Forces Press Service)