Partnership for the Americas

Book excerpt: Admiral James G. Stavridis, USN, reflects on his tenure as Commander of United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM). The first Admiral to command Southern Command, Admiral Stavridis broke with tradition from day one, discarding the customary military staff model and creating an innovative organization designed not solely to subdue adversaries, but ... to build durable and lasting partnerships. From his unique perspective as commander, Stavridis uses his personal style to describe his vision for the command's role in the Americas, making most of limited resources to create goodwill and mutual respect, while countering illegal drug trafficking, overcoming a dangerous insurgency in Colombia, and responding to humanitarian crises. He devotes chapters to USSOUTHCOM's role in nurturing institutional respect for human rights among military and security forces of the region, advancing health security, and supporting a new regional strategy to counter the increasing challenge of urban and transnational gang violence. Citing the hemisphere's common geography, culture, economy, and history, Stavridis makes a case for a common approach and strategy for defending our "shared home of the Americas" through an international, interagency, and private-public approach, all connected through coherent effective strategic communication--Publisher's description.