Senior Course 123 Transatlantic Link Field Study: Brussels (2)

For the second day of its visit to Belgium, Senior Course 123 (SC 123) was hosted by SHAPE in the morning and by the European Union in the afternoon.

Course Members were welcomed on arrival at SHAPE by MGen Jerzy BIZIEWSKI, Deputy Chief of Staff Plans, who introduced the schedule for the morning.

The first briefing was given by MGen Gordon DAVIS, in charge of the recently established Comprehensive Crisis and Operations Management Centre (CCOMC). He updated the audience on major current operations: Afghanistan and Kosovo, Operation Active Endeavour, Operation Ocean Shield and the NATO Air Policing Mission, as well as NATO support to Turkey and to the African Union.

This overview was complemented by a specific focus on Afghanistan post-2014, when the ongoing mission will be superseded by Operation Resolute Support. Deputy Assistant Chief Of Staff J5 Col Michele CIUFFREDA examined the related planning needs in some detail.

Course Members were then briefed by two staff officers from the Planning Directorate, LtCol Mauro MONTAGNINO and LtCol Jean-Marc PERREAUT. The first of the two briefings was dedicated to the implementation of the Connected Force Initiative (CFI), the second to the role of the NATO Response Force (NRF) in the new NATO command structure.

In the following presentations, the force generation process and the implementation of the new command structure were discussed by Col Franck DUWEL and Cdr James KEATING respectively.

After a short coffee break, the NDC delegation was addressed by DSACEUR Gen Sir Richard SCHIRREFF, who was joined by MGen Fernando ALEJANDRE, MGen Jerzy BIZIEWSKI, MGen José Manuel Picado ESPERANÇA DA SILVA and MGen Gordon DAVIS. Gen SCHIRREFF gave Course Members his assessment of future challenges and opportunities for the Alliance, after which he chaired a truly memorable Q&A session. DSACEUR then accompanied SC 123 on an unplanned visit to the CCOMC, which was made possible at extremely short notice thanks to prompt organization by MGen DAVIS.

The stand-up buffet at the end of the morning gave Course Members an opportunity to meet fellow nationals as well as several Anciens of the College now at SHAPE, for example former Faculty Adviser Capt Jean-Nicolas GAUTHIER.

After lunch, the NDC group returned from Mons to Brussels and was received at the European Union’s Justus Lipsius Building. Here, Deputy Director General of the EU Military Staff RAdm Bruce WILLIAMS briefed Course Members on the role of the military within the EU. His talk included analytical comments on the Comprehensive Approach from EU and NATO viewpoints.

The following speaker was BGen Walter HUHN, Senior Military Adviser in the EU Crisis Management and Planning Directorate, European External Action Service, who gave a comprehensive update on the EU’s organizational readiness in this field.

Focusing on the EU’s civilian contribution to the Comprehensive Approach, the last talk of the day was given by Head of Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability LtGen (ret) Gilles JANVIER.

Having completed a challenging and extremely rewarding Transatlantic Link Field Study, SC 123 now returns to Rome for the upcoming Study Period dedicated to “Complex Environments”.

NDC Public Affairs Office