WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Oct. 16, 2015) -- Gen. Vincent Brooks, commander, U.S. Army Pacific Command, said he's often asked about China and the relationship with that powerful and important nation.

From his perspective, Brooks said he sees that relationship as one of competition and cooperation. "Only if we make a mistake," would there be the possibility of a conflict, he added.

Brooks; Lt. Gen. Frederick Hodges, commander, U.S. Army Europe; Maj. Gen. Darryl Williams, commander, U.S. Army Africa; and three others spoke during the 2015 Association of the U.S. Army Annual Meeting and Exposition, Oct. 14, in Washington, D.C.

The U.S., Australia, and the Chinese People's Liberation Army recently participated in a survival exercise in the Australian outback, he said, pointing to a photo of a group of Soldiers from all three armies joined with arms around each other.

That's the spirit of trust and cooperation Brooks said he'd like to see continue.

Brooks' area of responsibility stretches across the Indo-Asia-Pacific region, contains over half of the world's surface, most of the world's population, and five of seven treaty alliances the U.S. is party to.

That region has had 70 years of relative growth, prosperity and tranquility, he said, adding that he believes exercises like Pacific Pathways will help to fortify that peace and prosperity for everyone.

DISASTER-PRONE AREA

Despite peace, the area is unstable in terms of natural disasters, Brooks said. Some 80 percent of the world's natural disaster-related deaths occur there.

The Army and the armies of the region that the U.S. has helped to train and build relationships with have been important participants in rescue and recovery efforts following those disasters.

Nisha Desai Biswal, assistant secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, Department of State, agreed with Brooks that the Army and the other military services have been important contributors to the whole-of-government approach in bringing humanitarian relief to stricken regions.

Biswal was on the ground following some of those tragedies. She was there following the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan, where people were waving American flags and showing "real warmth" for U.S. Soldiers who were bringing in relief supplies via Chinook helicopters, and setting up field hospitals.

She said she saw that same warmth for Americans in Bangladesh, where U.S. Army Corps of Engineers personnel were erecting emergency shelters and storm surge barriers that resulted in protecting that low-lying country from devastating cyclones that occur on a regular basis there.

This spring, Biswal was in Nepal, following the catastrophic earthquake there. The U.S. military played a key role in humanitarian efforts there and the coordination among all of the region's militaries went smoothly as a result of years of partnering together on training exercises, she said.

When a U.S. Marine helicopter crashed in a remote area of Nepal, the militaries of India and other countries went "searching for it as if they'd lost one of their own," she said.

That spirit of "trust and cooperation was on full display in Nepal," she added.

The U.S. has deepened its military partnership with India, the world's second largest country in terms of population. Biswal said that relationship was "nonexistent" 10 years ago. Now, she said, the U.S. is one of India's largest defense partners.

MANEUVERS IN EUROPE

Hodges said when he was a lieutenant stationed in Germany decades ago, there were some 300,000 Soldiers there and in neighboring countries. That force has shrunk to just 30,000 now.

"Until just two years ago, we thought Russia would be our partner," he said. That all changed following Russia's annexation of Crimea, meddling in eastern Ukraine and its military buildup in Kaliningrad, where it is intimidating the Baltic states.

In response, Hodges said the Army will be prepositioning European Activity Sets in locations in Eastern Europe to be named by next summer. A heavy brigade has now returned to Europe as well.

U.S. forces have also been training with NATO and other European partners, he said. While the U.S. has been doing its part to deter Russia and reassure allies, he said Europeans "must stick together" in NATO and the European Union to show solidarity in the face of Russian intimidation and aggression.

Europeans must also make it easier for the U.S. and other armies to get diplomatic clearance to move troops and materiel around from one country to another, he said. For example, it takes about 15 days of diplomatic clearance process to move people from Poland to Lithuania.

Finally, Hodges said "30,000 Soldiers must look and feel like 300,000." Junior officers and Soldiers are already, and will continue to shoulder more responsibility than ever before, and will continue to be incredibly busy.

OPPORTUNITIES IN AFRICA

Williams said the whole of government approach is working throughout Africa, with a lot of humanitarian projects going on involving various Army units, including the Guard's State Partnership Program, U.S. Agency for International Development and others.

The Chinese, he added, are already in Africa building their own relationships with nations.

U.S. Army Africa has been heavily involved in African Horizons, a plan that "links bilateral activities with key influencers to achieve regional effects that build toward continental security."

Ambassador W. Stuart Symington, special representative for the Central African Republic, said when first visiting a village in Africa, you are a stranger. The next time you show up, you're a friend. And, the third time, you become family. That's why this regionally aligned forces concept is so important. It's about relationship building.

Besides humanitarian projects, relationship building military-to-military is becoming even more significant as terrorist groups proliferate in different parts of Africa, including Boko Haram, the Islamic State and Al-Shabaab, Williams said.

Africa might not be as large as Asia, but it's similarly diverse, containing 54 countries with people speaking some 2,000 languages, Williams said. Each country and culture requires a tailored approach.

For instance, while the U.S. Army has integrated women in most jobs, the Senegalese army is just beginning to do that and they are asking U.S. Soldiers how best to make it happen. Other countries are trying to replicate the U.S. Army's Ranger school and the Sergeants Major Academy.

PENTAGON PERSPECTIVE

Thomas H. Harvey III, principal deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans and Capabilities, was frank about the Army's shaping strategies.

"It's difficult to use traditional metrics and quantify awareness from interactions with your counterparts," he said. "It's hard to quantify mutual understanding of military-to-military relationships, although we know they're vitally important."

Harvey called it "the dog that didn't bark phenomenon," meaning if a negative development was averted in a particular country, it's "hard to draw straight-line linkage to what we've done."

While it's a complex world, there's only so much in the budget to do things, so the military must continue to refine its approach and be as economically efficient as possible.