At the invitation of the Austrian Defense Attaché, Major General Jürgen Ortner, the former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Jim Townsend, discussed the current status of transatlantic relations with Washington, DC - based defense attachés from other European Union member states.
Key issues during this exchange on February 26, 2019 were the American view of the latest developments within the European Security and Defense Policy, burden sharing, and defense cooperation. All agreed that despite some disturbing factors, a close cooperation between the U.S. and Europe is essential to handle current threats and challenges successfully.
Jim Townsend served eight years as U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (DASD) for European and NATO Policy during the Obama administration
from left: Austrian Defense Attaché, MajGen Jürgen Ortner, former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Jim Townsend, Austrian Colonel Gottfried Malovits, Austrian Colonel Leo Radlingmayer