Unity. Harmony of purpose.

We are meeting in a place where the very foundations of Western strategic alliances were built, and where many of these modern challenges, partnerships, and requirements are worked every day.

That makes a difference.
The map may separate us. The mission cannot.

Diverse geographies and national interests are realities of operating across the European theater.
But perhaps the more important question is what we do about it.

How do allied nations operate more effectively together?
How do we strengthen relationships before they are tested?
How do we share lessons across very different operating environments?
How do we identify capability gaps faster?
And how do we connect the person experiencing the problem with the person who might actually be able to help solve it?

That is where concordia becomes more than a useful Latin word.

It becomes the point.

No one nation, command, company, or organization has every answer.

Getting better across this theater requires people working together.

A shared officium

There is another Roman word worth considering as this community comes together:
‘Officium.’

It is often translated as duty, but it also carries deep ideas of shared responsibility, service, and moral obligation.

That feels relevant.

Everyone arriving in Rome comes with a different officium.

Operators bring experience.

Partner nations bring perspectives shaped by their own geography and security challenges.

Government brings requirements, policy, and acquisition.
Industry brings technology and the ability to turn ideas into capability.

Academia brings research, challenge, and different ways of thinking.

Our responsibility at GSOF is to help connect them.

Because strategy on its own is not enough.

Eventually, strategy has to become action.

A requirement has to become capability.
A partnership has to become cooperation.
And a conversation has to lead somewhere.
The conversations between the conversations

We will hear a lot from the stage in October.

But anyone who spends time around this community knows that some of the most important moments will happen somewhere else.

Walking out of a session.

Around a table.

Between two people who realize they are dealing with the same problem.

Or when someone says:
“We tried something similar.”
“We should work on this together.”
“I know who you need to meet.”

That is the network doing what it is supposed to do.

Not networking for networking’s sake.

Connecting people around a purpose.
Concordia.

As October approaches

The purpose of the GSOF Symposium Europe is to help bridge the gap between strategy and the battlefield.

Doing that across a theater this complex was never going to be simple.

But getting the right people together, in the right place, to have the right conversations is a very good place to begin.

So, benvenuti.

To our SOF community.

To our international partners.

To government, academia, and industry.

Rome is ready.

The conversations are waiting.

And when we gather in October, the work begins.

Concordia. Unity of purpose. One shared challenge.

We will see you in Rome, 6 to 8 October.