New USAFE-UK director hosts summer reception, welcomes civic leaders

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Luke Milano
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  U.S. Air Forces in Europe-United Kingdom hosted their annual summer reception and welcomed new director Col. Mark Ciero June 21, 2019, at RAF Mildenhall, England.

Ciero took over as director on March 15, 2019, and hosted the reception to meet civic leaders and discuss the unique role the U.S. visiting forces have throughout the United Kingdom.

The USAFE-UK director serves as the U.S. European Command’s country representative in the UK and is entrusted with supporting force readiness for UK-based units. Guests included the three USAFE wing commanders along with local dignitaries and members of government including Lord Iveagh, Mrs. Penelope Walkinshaw, and Lady Karen Fisher, Deputy Lieutenants of Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, and Norfolk, respectively.

“Relationships matter, so it’s through these venues that we get after the idea of freedom and we develop friendships,” said Ciero. “It’s the idea of friendships tying directly to relationships that we want to strengthen. Thirty percent of the airpower in Europe resides in this country. That’s how significant this partnership is, but more importantly, our future is more than just about the numbers of what we are doing. It’s really about our people and our people are what sustains our core idea of freedom.”

Events such as the reception take place a several times a year, and allow local military and community leaders to build social bonds, further strengthening the U.S. visiting forces relationship with our British hosts.