On 5th November 2012, Senior Course 121 (SC 121) visited NATO’s Allied Command Transformation (ACT) in Norfolk, Virginia.
Course Members were warmly welcomed by Chief of Staff Vice Admiral C. A. Johnstone-Burt (UK RN), who underlined the following key points for ACT in his opening remarks: standardization and interoperability; Smart Defence; the Defence Planning Process (DPP); and NATO‘s future. With regard to Smart Defence and the DPP, the Chief of Staff underlined that the two must be used together, each complementing the other.
After this introduction, several short briefings were dedicated to ACT’s role, mission, organization and most important projects. The session concluded with a panel discussion and an extremely dynamic Q&A session.
Commander Graham Landrock (UK RN) was the first speaker, his subject being ACT’s vision, mission, tasks and structure. He focused on the familiar visualization of ACT’s mission as a “trident”, with the Command’s overarching role as a “Transformational Hub” for NATO finding expression in three key areas (Strategic Thinking; Capability Development; Education and Training).
The second briefing of the day was delivered by Brigadier General Roy Hunstok (NOR A). He introduced Course Members to the Connected Forces Initiative (CFI), the rationale for which is the need to ensure that the NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014 does not mean the end of the interconnectivity developed between coalition partners over the last decade. Given the vital role of such interconnectivity in countering network-based threats such as those faced by the Alliance, the aim of the CFI is to provide a systematic and concrete means of safeguarding NATO’s strengths and preventing the loss of so much precious experience. This entails the need for development of policy and doctrine, for investment in training and exercises, for deployable forces, and for engagement with the industrial sector.
Captain Morten Svinddal (NOR N) commented in detail on education and training as one of the four pillars of the ACT action plan, and as a field in which there is a great need for a single authority within NATO. To ensure that there is an effective organizational structure for exercises and training, dedicated standardized procedures are also needed. One of the available tools for this purpose is the electronic Individual Training and Education Programme (e-ITEP), providing a management process to match NATO requirements and opportunities in terms of ensuring appropriate training.
The following lecturer was Colonel Axel Lenhart (Ger A), who briefed Course Members on the implementation of NATO’s Defence Planning Process (DPP). He emphasized the role that ACT is playing in the second and third phases of this process, determining requirements and the apportioning of supplies. The speaker also explained the current migration from the old DPP to the new one. Major Jonathan McGowen (US F) then presented the three-tiered structure of the Smart Defence concept, using specific projects as practical examples.
Mr Angel San José Martin (ESP C) concluded the briefings with a talk on modelling and simulation. He pointed out the benefits that this field of expertise could offer in a number of sectors, such as education and training, decision-making, experimentation, tests and evaluation, the CFI and serious gaming. One useful application of this last category could be within the ongoing cooperation between ACT and the NATO Defense College, for negotiation games – an integral part of SC 121’s syllabus in the area of Crisis Management.
The visit to ACT concluded with a panel chaired by Brigadier General Theodosios Dourouklis (GRC A), who was joined by Lieutenant General Karlheinz Viereck (DEU F) and Admiral Mendez (ESP N). The ensuing Q&A session featured excellent exchanges on a variety of topics, enabling Course Members to learn more about specific plans for the streamlining of training in different NATO member countries, as well as the role of partner countries in the various types of training and exercises that ACT will be offering once the standardization programme is completed.
NATO Defense College 
