Defense Secretary Ash Carter will depart Washington Sunday for a five-day trip to Europe to attend the NATO Defense Ministerial Conference in Brussels and to meet with counterparts in Spain, Italy, and the United Kingdom.
On Monday, Carter will meet with Spanish leaders in Madrid.
On Tuesday, he will visit U.S. Marines at Morón Air Base, Spain, before travelling to Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy, later that day to visit U.S. personnel stationed there.
Carter will meet with Italian leaders in Rome on Wednesday.
On Thursday, he will attend the NATO Ministerial in Brussels, including sessions on nuclear strategy, the NATO-Georgia Commission, and discussions on how the United States and its allies can best respond to threats along the southern flank.
Carter then travels to London, where he will meet with British Defense Secretary Phillip Hammond to discuss the ongoing Strategic Defense and Security Review. He returns to Washington that night.