Admiral James Stavridis assumed duties as Commander of the United States European Command in June 2009 and as the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe in July 2009.

Stavridis is a 1976 distinguished graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a native of South Florida.

A Surface Warfare Officer, Stavridis commanded the Destroyer USS Barry (DDG-52) from 1993-1995, completing NATO deployments to Haiti and Bosnia, and a combat cruise to the Arabian Gulf. Barry won the Battenberg Cup as the top ship in the Atlantic Fleet under his command

In 1998, he commanded Destroyer Squadron 21 and deployed to the Arabian Gulf, winning the Navy League’s John Paul Jones Award for Inspirational Leadership.

From 2002-2004, Stavridis commanded Enterprise Carrier Strike Group, conducting combat operations in the Arabian Gulf in support of both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

From 2006-2009, he commanded U.S. Southern Command in Miami, focused on Latin America and the Caribbean.

Ashore, the he has served as a strategic and long range planner on the staffs of the chief of naval operations and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. At the start of the Global War of Terror, he was selected as the Director of the Navy Operations Group, DEEP BLUE. He has also served as the executive assistant to the secretary of the Navy and the senior military assistant to the secretary of defense.

Stavridis earned a PhD and MALD from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in International Relations in 1984, where he won the Gullion Prize as outstanding student. He is also a distinguished graduate of both the Naval and National War Colleges.

He holds various decorations and awards, including the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal and five awards of the Legion of Merit. He is author or co-author of several books on naval shiphandling and leadership, including Command at Sea and Destroyer Captain.