NATO alliance shows the strength of partnership
Annual celebration of international friendship has bridged cultural experiences from around the world and unified us
In a different set of global circumstances, our community would have celebrated Norfolk NATO Festival’s International Parade and International Village on Saturday.
For 66 years, this annual celebration of international friendship has bridged cultural experiences from around the world and connected the work of the most successful politicalmilitary alliance in human history to the people of Hampton Roads — NATO’s only home in North America. That is indeed something to celebrate.
However, the necessary decision was taken to cancel the 2020 Norfolk NATO Festival in order to help safeguard the health and well-being of the region against the COVID-19 pandemic. This year would have been the 67th Norfolk NATO Festival.
History will remember this pandemic as a story about loss, economic hardship and anxiety. But we know it is also a story about our resilience, about our ability to respond to challenges and about our will to defeat any enemy, including malicious viruses that spread around the world. It’s a story of inspiration, for who can’t help but to be inspired by the selfless medical professionals who care for those of us who are sick? It’s a story about charity, for who doesn’t know one of the countless number of citizens who are making life a bit better through random, unselfish acts of heroism? It’s a story about the work of allied national militaries to provide assistance to civil authorities.
Last year, we were celebrating the 70th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, an alliance built as a symbol of a community of values that link together nations on our two continents, the European and the North American.
Seventy years later, this alliance remains a pillar of our security and an anchor of stability, unity, solidarity and friendship. Our human diversity and common experience remain our most precious treasure. Every day, our soldiers from 30 nations serve together, embracing a common goal: protect our citizens and defend our values, providing security to more than 1 billion people.
We face an unprecedented pandemic, which dramatically affects our populations and territories. More than ever, the consequences of all these challenges ripple across our countries, ignoring our traditional physical borders.
The militaries of your alliance are providing essential support to care for those in need, including health professionals. From Spain to Poland, the Baltics to Romania, and Italy to Denmark, efforts include logistics and planning, field hospitals and hospital ships, transport for patients, repatriation of citizens abroad, disinfection of public areas and additional security at border crossings. From Germany to Greece, Canada to the United Kingdom, we are all in this together. We continue to be innovative and to provide delivery mechanisms to NATO members.
NATO Allied Command Transformation is exceptionally proud of its bonds to this community and its history in the Hampton Roads. NATO has been a part of the fabric of this region since 1952, helping to promote the values we all hold dear and bridging the distance between North America and Europe. Hundreds of military personnel, civilians and their families from across the Alliance work and live here. They serve the alliance to make our security a reality.
Our resilience has always been one of our greatest attributes. The alliance is a symbol of all that we hold dear: Freedom, democracy, the rule of law and individual liberty.
My belief is that our loyalty to these principles and values, the commitment to defend one another whenever and wherever there is a need, are the attributes that will bond us through tough times and guide us towards better days.
All NATO personnel thank you for extending your friendship to us. Together, in a spirit of solidarity, we are committed to continue our important work to better international peace, security and stability. On this path, we are all equal and must support those who have lost so much, including loved ones.
Although we cannot gather together, the spirit of the festival is very much alive. Take comfort in our continued blessings and ever vigilant. NATO, alongside our friends at the Virginia Arts Festival and on the Norfolk NATO Festival Committee, look forward to celebrating the Norfolk NATO Festival with you in 2021.
Gen. André Lanata of the French Air Force was appointed Supreme Allied Commander Transformation in 2018. Beginning his career as a fighter pilot, he was chief of staff of the Air Force from 2015 to 2018, which strengthened his relationships with Air Chiefs through the Alliance and Partner nations.