The Senior Course 116 continued their Summer Field Study with a visit to London (UK). They were welcomed by Mr. Peter Watkins, Director Operational Policy of the MOD who outlined the program of the day and also gave a general outline of the most salient aspects of the UK view on security. One of he issues he stressed was that all aspects of security are interlinked but not all are in the military sphere.
After him Dr Richard Hutton, Head Of Strategic Development (MOD) spoke to the Senior Course. He elaborated on the situation after the elections with a new coalition government and explained in detail how the MOD produced their Strategy, highlighting amongst others the ins and outs of the new Strategic Defense and Security Review.
The next speaker was Mrs Tracy Lerpiniere, Head of NATO and Europe Policy (MOD) on the UK perspective on NATO, SDP and the UN. She talked about the UK view on NATO-EU relations, current NATO and EU operations, capability development in both organisations and their interrelations and the need for transformation. One of the messages was the need for well-planned and well-managed operations, the problems associated with having the right capabilities for current and future operations and the need for effective partnerships, all at the same time partnered with resource situation.
The last speaker before the Q&A was Mr Nick Pickard, Head Security Policy Group of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. In a lively lecture he explained amongst others the UK governmental structures overseeing the security dimension as the National Security Council, the views on the Transatlantic Alliance, the need to see for partnerships beyond Europe and North-America, effective reform of international institutions as NATO, EU and UN.
In the discussion period, during which also Mr Edward Ferguson (Head of Afghan Policy, MOD) joined, the course members were able get answers on questions that either went into more detail or asked for clarity on issues not specifically mentioned by the speakers. The answers of the panel helped the course members to better understand the UK view on these important elements of today’s security in general and provided an excellent closure of an informative session in the UK .
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