NATO’S HIGHEST
MILITARY BODY CONCLUDES MEETINGS IN POLAND
September 9, 2006
WARSAW -- Chiefs of defence from 26 NATO nations wrapped
up intensive discussions on a wide range of issues here in Warsaw during the weekend and shaped key military
work leading to the Riga Summit in end-November.
“We
made real progress on a number of complex issues,” said Gen. Ray Henault,
Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, and NATO’s top officer. “We
took stock of all our operations, with a particular focus on Afghanistan, and readied work on several
transformational initiatives. The recent heavy fighting in the south of Afghanistan plus the fact that the NATO Summit in
Riga is 10
weeks away made for some very focused discussions.”
The
formal meetings of the NATO Military Committee at the level of Chiefs of
Defence Staff take place three times a year, including twice in Brussels. Once a year, the
meeting is convened in a member country: last year they met in the Netherlands.
This year marks the first time the body has met in Poland.
Over
the course of a day-and-a-half of meetings, the chiefs of defence assessed progress
on all five ongoing operations, including Afghanistan,
Kosovo, the training mission in Iraq,
naval counter terrorism operations in the Mediterranean, and support to the
African Union mission in Sudan.
“Afghanistan
is our number one operational priority,” said Gen. Henault.
“I’ve visited there several times, including last week with the
North Atlantic Council, and I see a determined and capably led force with about
20,000 personnel from 37 NATO and non-NATO countries, deployed on a complex and
demanding mission. The forces are resolute and will fulfil their missions of
security, stability and provincial reconstruction.”
“We
will continue to establish a robust military presence throughout the
country,” Gen. Henault continued. “We will deter, disrupt and
defeat opposition forces, and help set the conditions for success for Afghan
government authorities, and for more reconstruction and development. We are
very aware that development is not possible without security, and enduring security
is not sustainable without development.”
Nations
agreed to a force generation conference on September 13 to address the existing
capability shortfalls in the ISAF mission, and to a force generation conference
for September 15 respecting capability shortfalls in the NATO Response Force.
These meetings will take place at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe in Mons, Belgium,
During
the meetings the Military Committee also discussed ways and means to continue
building capability and sustainability in the NATO Response Force; considered the
military advice being developed to implement the new NATO Ministerial Guidance
and new level of ambition for NATO military forces (to deal simultaneously with
two major joint operations, and six smaller operations); and reviewed work on
initiatives respecting enhanced NATO training and Special Operations Forces
transformation.
“The
in-depth discussions at this meeting will be very helpful to inform the
military advice that we will bring forward to the North Atlantic Council early
next week,” remarked Gen. Henault. I have already briefed the
Secretary-General on the substance of our discussions.”
NEW CIMIC CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE ON
TRACK
A new Civil-Military Co-operation Centre of
Excellence is one step away from accreditation by NATO following a signing
ceremony here September 9. At a ceremony hosted by the Polish Ministry of
Defence, the four sponsoring nations (Denmark,
Germany, the Netherlands, and Poland) signed a memorandum of
understanding to mark the final hurdle before seeking accreditation of the
centre by the North Atlantic Council, later this year.
“Civil
military co-operation is absolutely essential in today’s NATO operations,
and we’ve got to get this right,” said Gen. Lance Smith, Supreme
Allied Commander Transformation. “Military force alone will not
bring long-term peace and prosperity. It requires a coordinated team
effort and CIMIC is the commander’s direct interface with key civil
leaders.”
NATO
learned the importance of CIMIC during its stabilization missions in the
Balkans and pushed for the creation of a standing capability. Based in
Budel, the Netherlands,
the centre will not be part of the NATO chain of command but will maintain a
close working relationship with Allied Command Transformation and Allied
Command Operations, NATO’s two strategic commands.
NATO centres of excellence are nationally
or multinationally sponsored and funded entities that offer expertise and
experience that benefit the Alliance.
They can enhance education and training, help improve interoperability and
capabilities, assist in doctrine development, and test and validate concepts
through experimentation.
There are already two other centres
certified by NATO: the Joint Air Power Competency Centre (Kalkar,
Germany) was approved in
March 2005, and the Centre of Excellence for Defence against Terrorism (Ankara, Turkey),
was approved in August 2006. A third centre – the Naval Mine
Warfare Centre of Excellence (Ostende,
Belgium)
– has been submitted for NAC approval. More than a dozen other COEs
are at various stages of consideration.
For further information, visit the CIMIC centre’s
website at: www.cimic-coe.org.
ELECTION OF NEW DIRECTOR INTERNATIONAL MILITARY STAFF
During
the meetings, the chiefs of defence also elected Lt.-Gen. Jo Godderij, a
fighter pilot from the Netherlands,
as the next Director of the International Military Staff. He will replace
Spanish Vice-Adm. Fernando del Pozo early in the summer of 2007. Lt.-Gen.
Godderij currently serves as the Military Representative of the Netherlands
in the Military Committee.
The
International Military Staff, based at NATO HQ in Brussels, is the 400-strong executive body
that supports the work of the Military Committee and its full-time Chairman.
The Military Committee, composed of the 26 NATO chiefs of defence – and
represented on a permanent basis by Military Representatives in Brussels – provides consensus-based military advice
to NATO’s political authorities, and shapes the guidance received from
them as direction to Alliance
military commanders.
The
other Belgian-based NATO headquarters is near Mons,
less than an hour southwest of Brussels, where
the Alliance’s
military operations are planned and coordinated.
For more information about the
Military Committee or the International Military Staff, contact Colonel Brett
Boudreau at NATO HQ Brussels, on cellular phone at 0032-2-494-53-5005. For more
information about NATO’s Centres of Excellence, contact Commander Dave
Scanlon at Allied Command Transformation HQ in Norfolk, U.S.,
at 757-747-3771.