Table of ContentsPublishing an article in the ACT TransformerThe views and opinionsexpressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of NATO or its member nations. All articles are edited for content.To contact The Transformer staff, call +1(757)747-3600. To obtain electroniccopies of the newsletter, visit us on the Web at www.act.nato.int or the classified site http://pio.act.nato.int/portal. Deadline for submissions is mid-month of each quarter.

Email: pao@act.nato.intPostal: Headquarters Supreme Allied

Commander TransformationPublic Affairs Office7857 Blandy Road, Suite 100Norfolk, Va. 23551

Telephone: +1-757-747-3600

The Transformer StaffChief of Public AffairsCapt. Dennis Moynihan, U.S. Navy

Deputy Chief of Public Affairs Mr. Roy Thorvaldsen, Norwegian A-4

Production Leading Chief Petty OfficerMaster Chief Petty Officer Priscilla Kirsh, U.S. Navy

Production ChiefChief Petty Officer Crystal M. Raner, U.S. Navy

Production Leading Petty OfficerPetty Officer 1st Class Carla Burdt, U.S. Navy

Staff JournalistPhilippa Gibb, U.K.Civilian

On the cover: From left: Chairman of the Military CommitteeItalian Navy Adm. Giampaolo Di Paola speaks with Deputy Supreme Allied CommanderTransformation Italian Navy Adm. Luciano Zappataand Military Representative of France Air ForceLt. Gen. Pascal Vinchon during Allied Reach 2008Seminar held July 14-17. Photo by U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Crystal M. Raner

First Impressions of ACT: Interview with New Deputy POLAD 1

ACT Engages NATO’s Military Committee to Strategise on the Alliance’s Future 2

Allied Reach 2008: NATO’s Top Leaders Collaborate on Present, Future State of NRF 3

ACT’s Multiple Futures Project 4

Conference Shapes NATO Expeditionary Operations 6

NATO, ACT Wrap Up Education and Training Conference in Sweden 7

NNEC Conference Promotes Alliance Interoperability 8

New Cyber Defence and Military Engineering Centres of Excellence 9

JWC: Behind the Scenes: Scripting for Steadfast Juncture 10

JFTC: JFTC Director, Polish MOD Sign Technical Arrangement 11

JALLC: A Brush with Diplomacy: Adding True Value to the NATO Transformation Agenda 12

NATO School: ACT Holds First Pilot Orientation Course for Future Concept Developers 13

NURC: Latvian Collaboration Demonstrates AUV Technology for Mine-Hunting 14

NC3A: Delivering Innovation: Planning Tool Goes from Concept to Capability 15

NATO Military Public Affairs Education and Training 16

Collaborating and Information Sharing with Nations 17

The Transformer

1

Interview with ACT’s New Deputy Political AdvisorMr. Fritz Rademacher

Q: What will be your primary responsibility as SACT’s Deputy Special Assistant for International Affairs (Deputy POLAD)?

A: First of all, let me tell you how happy I am to be part of Allied Command Transformation. From the first day on, I only met dedicated and professional men and women in Norfolk, Brussels and elsewhere, whose work is of such importance to NATO, our Allied nations and the Partner countries. It is a real privilege to work with all of them.

To answer the question, let me quote from the letter I received from SACT two weeks into my job: With regard to the civilian side of NATO, he told me that I was his human face in Brussels and the Allied nations and that by working with the POLAD’s guidance and in close cooperation with SACT Representative Europe and Staff Element Europe, I would keep ACT visible and responsive to Nations and NATO HQ. I guess I have my work cut out for me.

Q: What are the advantages of ACT having its Deputy POLAD in Belgium rather than at Headquarters, SACT?

A: SACT needs a presence at the political level in Brussels, with a view to engaging and interacting with the delegations of Nations and Part-ners; the Private Office and the International Staff as well as other players in town. Continuity and visibility are key here. This helps the command both in having a better situational awareness of what is a fairly complex and sometimes for the outsider not overly transparentprocess at NATO HQ and in what you could call the selling of our products and ensuring customer satisfaction.

Q: Why is it just as relevant today as it was in the past to keep the transatlantic link strong?

A: Let me give you a very personal answer. As you know, I am German and was born and raised in West-Berlin. I do believe that my being heretoday as a voluntary national contribution of a reunified Germany owes a lot to the transatlantic link and to NATO as its embodiment. And the end of the Cold War period has not changed the fundamental value of the democracies in North America and Europe working closely together. In fact, the turbulent times since the end of the Cold War have clearly shown that America and Europe can achieve almost anything when they do work together. Alas, we have learned that the opposite holds true, too. If I may add, I always believed that a strong and viable transatlantic relationship and the European integration process are not a zero sum game or a beauty contest but something that is in all our best interest, including in the area of security and defence.

Q: Prior to your taking the post as Deputy POLAD, you worked at the NATO HQ in Brussels. What were your specific jobs there and what applicable experience will you bring to the ACT organisation?

A: I had the great privilege to spend almost twelve years in Brussels working both at NATO HQ and the European Union. During those years, I had the opportunity to deal with a broad range of the Alliance’s political affairs and defence policy issues, including NATO-EU relations; relations with other international organisations, NATO-Russia defence cooperation; training and education as well as the negotiating and drafting of the 1999 Strategic Concept. Having seen the EU and its ESDP structures from within

has proven to be a most valuable experience as well.

Q: As NATO’s catalyst for change, in your opinion what are some of the major areas of focus where ACT is making progress in transformation within the Alliance?

A: I am still learning every day how much excellent work is being done across a very broad spectrum of issues. This is most impressive indeed, and I see one of my tasks in making sure that this is under-stood at NATO HQ. While it is ultimately the responsibility of Allied nations to transform their armed forces, ACT is playing a pivotal role in assisting them in this process. In particular, the new members with their specific needs in this area are most interested in and grateful for ACT support. Also with our Partners ACT is doing a great job with regard to reforming their armed forces, making them more inter-operable as well as in training and educating them. At the same time, ACT is focusing on the immediate needs of the Alliance, including by supporting NATO’s operations through training and lessons learnt.

Q: In your experience working with NATO’s training initiative, how is NATO’s Training Cooperation Initiative progressing and what contributions are being made by ACT?

A: I do believe that NATO’s efforts in this area are of crucial importance. As we have seen over the last years, training and education is what you can call a growth industry and a pillar of NATO activity, both with Allied nations and with partners. As regards to NTCI, ACT and its subordinate commands are doing an excellent job, with a view to implementing this initiative jointly with our Mediterranean Dialogue and Istanbul Cooperation Initiative partners and giving it substance to the mutual benefit of Allies and MD and ICI partners alike. Innovative concepts, such as advanced distance learning, mobile training teams and the like are being developed and put to good use by ACT.

First Impressions of Allied Command Transformation:Interview with ACT’s New Deputy Political Advisor

Deputy Political Advisor Mr. Fritz Rademacher

2 The Transformer

ACTEngages NATO’s Military Committee to Strategise on the Alliance’s FutureStory by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Carla Burdt ACT Public Affairs Office

After wrapping up discussions on how to best deliver effectiveforces and capabilities during Allied Reach 2008, NATO’s MilitaryCommittee (MC), including its newly-appointed chairman Italian Navy Adm.Giampaolo Di Paola gathered at Headquarters, Supreme Allied CommanderTransformation (HQ SACT) to discuss Allied Command Transformation’s(ACT) ongoing Multiple Futures (MF) Project July 17-18.

Spanish Air Force Brig. Gen. Jose Fernandez-Demaria, DeputyAssistant Chief of Staff, Strategic Concepts, Policy and Interoperability,explained the strategic value of the MF Project and the benefits it provides to the Alliance.

“If we have a plan, we can make sense of what needs to beachieved,” said Demaria. “We aim to build a framework of military andstrategic dialogue, which will help steer the Alliance toward success.”

The aim of MFs is to explore what the foreseen future could possiblylook like 10-25 years from now. There are many global concerns that havethe potential to shape the future. NATO leaders are engaged in discussionsto find the best way to plan for the most likely futures, and the militaryimplications of those potential futures.

“We have to understand that the Multiple Futures study, which has been conducted under the leadership of General Mattis, is a study, not to predict the future, because no one can predict the future, but to try to prevent missing an opportunity or challenge that will be there that we are not looking at,” said Di Paola.

The outcome of these discussions will be used to develop the best possible military advice and ensure the Alliance will produce the right capabilities and to meet potential threats.

ACT and visitors from NATO’s Military Committee take a break from discussions for a photograph outside HQ SACT. Photo by U.S. Navy Seaman Derek M. Poole

Chairman of the Military Committee Italian Navy Adm. Giampaolo Di Paola discusses the focus of the MC visit, the Multiple Futures Project, with Mr. Henrik Breitenbauch of ACT’s Strategic Engagement & Vision Branch. Photo by U.S. Navy Seaman Derek M.Poole

3

By U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Crystal M. Raner ACT Public Affairs Office

NATO’s top leaders gathered in Norfolk,Va. for the annual Allied Reach seminar July 14-17.

Partnered under this year’s theme, “Delivering Effective Forces andCapabilities,” Allied Command Transformation (ACT) and Allied CommandOperations (ACO) engaged with NATO’s senior commanders, the MilitaryCommittee (MC), the National Armaments Directors, and various international and non-government organisations.

This year's event focused on the delivery of effective forces andcapabilities and the operational output of the NATO Response Force (NRF).The NRF is a highly ready and technologically advanced force made up ofland, air, sea and special forces components that the Alliance can deployquickly wherever needed. It is also a driving engine of NATO’s military transformation.

Appointed June 27 as Chairman of the Military Committee (CMC),Italian Navy Adm. Giampaolo Di Paola was impressed with the level of experience amongst the junior and senior members representing theAlliance and participating in this year’s Allied Reach seminar. In keepingwith this year’s theme, he commented on how strategically imperative it is for NATO’s two strategic military headquarters, ACT and ACO, to unite, ‘collectively brainstorm,’ and critically evaluate effective ways to build a malleable, deployable NRF designed and supported by all member Nations.

Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation Italian NavyAdm. Luciano Zappata explained how important it is to bring top leadershiptogether so they can share their unique insights and perspectives onimportant issues associated with the deployment of forces.

“The ability to deploy forces and capabilities is an important challengefor the Alliance,” Zappata said. “The history of warfare has taught us thatforces enter the battlefield with the capabilities that they have at that verymoment. Therefore, prudent military planning dictates that developing capabili-ties and, in the Alliance, promoting interoperability for the forces of tomorrowis very important work. Political ‘will’ can make forces available for a veryshort time; but they will only be operable if planned out much in advance.”

British Army Gen. Sir John McColl is attending his first Allied Reachas Deputy Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, having taken command some eight months ago. He commented on the extreme relevan-cy of the three-day seminar as it relates to fostering collaboration betweenACT-ACO and in how they can understand each other’s unique perspective.

“Allied Reach will help us understand each other and hopefullythrough understanding better our sensitivities and difficulties, we can better serve those we are responsible for and to our Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen who are in harm’s way in the field,” McColl said.

McColl mentioned there are several initiatives that require an ACT-ACO common understanding and development, which were addressed during Allied Reach syndicate work and plenary discussions. These key issuesare force generation for the NRF, Command and Control (C2) of deployedforces, Comprehensive Approach, and the Education and Training EvaluationExercise Review. He gave the attendees the ACO perspective on the

Command and Control piece that was discussed throughout the seminar.“It is encouraging to witness how commanders, trainers and staffs

are beginning to stand behind concepts and starting to move them for-ward,” McColl said. “I’m of the view that the C2 arrangement with regardsto the Deployable Joint Staff Element (DJSE) construct is the most robustand flexible way of meeting the level of ambition that our political mindshave given us, given the resource hand that we have been dealt. But itsflexibility gives rise to uncertainty. There are some gaps but like any newconcept it does need to evolve and that pragmatic evolution is for us todeliver and we [here at Allied Reach] can contribute constructively to that flexibility over the next few days.”

According to the CMC, the NRF is a driver for NATO’s transformation.While the NRF has been able to provide successful, small scale support such

as with the Pakistan earthquake, the Olympic Games, and Hurricane Katrina,it hasn’t produced enough momentum in theory to prove it can react andsustain itself over the long term in support of current and future operations.

“We can look at our transformational effort with a critical eye andpropose solutions or at least recognise our limitations and try and workthrough,” said Di Paola. “The NRF concept is not having an easy ride. Whilewe agree over principles and concepts of the NRF, we have not been ableto generate the forces in the manner in which we have originally envisioned.”

Di Paola encouraged Allied Reach attendees to capitalise on frankdiscussions and syndicate work in hopes of presenting a united front toNATO political authorities on how best the NRF can add value to NATO’scontinuing effort to transform.

At the conclusion of the Allied Reach seminar, ACT’s top leadershipengaged directly with the NATO’s Military Committee to improve the MC’sunderstanding of how ACT proposes to enhance the military effectivenessand interoperability of the Alliance and most importantly seek the MC’sengagement and input. By way of this year’s theme,“Today and Tomorrow,”ACT presented its Multiple Futures Project.

Allied Reach 2008: NATO’s Top Leaders Collaborate on Present,Future State of the NRF

Danish Navy Cdr. Soeren Larsen explains the purpose and benefits of NATO's Snow Leopard project during the Allied Reach 2008 Seminar held July 14-17. Photo by U.S. Chief Petty Officer Crystal M. Raner

HQ SACTAims to Promote Strategic Dialogue through“Multiple Futures” FrameworkBy ACT Public Affairs Office

Headquarters Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (HQSACT) strategic planners and thinkers gathered in downtown Norfolk,Va.,for a first-ever Multiple Futures (MFs) project kick-off meeting May 1.

The intent of the MF project is to build upon the ongoing work in HQSACT and consider the contributions made by nations and experts in exam-ining global trends to help identify “plausible” future scenarios. The combi-nation of the overarching trends, specific influencing drivers of interest toNATO and the plausible futures are the basis of the intellectual framework.

“The MF project is more concerned about preparing for the futurethan trying to predict it,” said Canadian Navy Cmdr. Rick Perks a MF coreteam member from ACT’s Strategic Concepts branch. Perks likens the MFproject to military planning and the idea behind (the elder) von Moltke’ famousquote, “no plan survives contact with the enemy.” Planning fosters organisa-tional learning and the ability to respond to a broad range of possibilities.

Similarly, the discussion and development of the MF intellectualframework and its inputs to the NATO Strategic Dialogue will provide theopportunity to develop and work towards a shared understanding of whatmay lie ahead for the Alliance and inform the long-range planning process.

The MF project’s objectives are to engage Nations, expert nationalinstitutions, world experts, and NATO Leadership in a focused and produc-tive forward looking strategic dialogue; to create a MF Intellectual Frame-work to facilitate and support the ongoing strategic dialogue; to benefitfrom the strategic dialogue with the generation of questions and ideas fromwhich credible deductions, assessments and implications can be drawn;and ultimately to provide the best possible military advice to the Alliance.

While the project will remain an ACT-led activity, it will be supported, as required, by Senior Concept Developers (SCDs) and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) with broad NATO leadership experiencebringing both European and North American perspectives. In addition to providing advice and supporting the development of the process the project will follow, the SCDs will help facilitate lines of communicationfor the strategic dialogue at the heart of the project.

The two-day brainstorming session was held to provide the opportunity for the MF Core Team representatives from HQ SACT supporting branches; Project Director Deputy Assistant Chief of StaffStrategic Concepts, Policy and Interoperability Spanish Air Force BrigadierGen. Jose Fernandez-Demaria; and Project Executive Assistant Chief ofStaff Capabilities Danish Navy Rear Adm. Torben Joergensen as well assupporting SCDs and SMEs to meet and discuss the project. The objectivewas to brainstorm both the process to be followed and the content to be used to initiate the trends, drivers and futures discussion.

Contributing attendees were former ambassadors, retired flag officers,representatives from U.S. Joint Forces Command, Royal United ServicesInstitute (London-based) and the Atlantic Council of the United States.

Mr. Stephane de Spiegeleire from the Hague Centre for StrategicStudies (HCSS) in the Netherlands, the MF project lead SME, was in attendance at the kick-off meeting. He is involved with a project similar to the MF, which has a different focus and methodology. The New Horizon’s project is considered complimentary and both project teams are interested in exploring the potential for collaboration.

“Mr. Stepahne de Spiegeleire has sparked great interest in manynations of the Alliance. Several institutions, with which ACT has done work

4 The Transformer

Multiple Futures Project - “On the Road”By Canadian Navy Cmdr. Rick Perks, Multiple Futures project officer

Allied Command Transformation’sMultiple Futures (MF) Project held its firstroundtable discussion May 27 at the RoyalUnited Services Institute (RUSI) in London.

A roundtable discussion engagesexperts from various disciplines to criticallyassess project outputs and trajectory. Its primary purpose is to ensure that necessary intellectual rigor is applied in the project, but it also provides the opportunity for focussedintellectual input and the development of the MF Intellectual Framework. Member of Parliament Dr. Julian Lewis gives a presentation at the Multiple Futures Roundtable discussion held

May 27 at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London. MF Project Team Photo

in the past, are eager to participate and as this project becomes betterknown, we anticipate more institutions will express interest in joining thediscussions,” said Perks.

Because the broad and detailed studies conducted thus far in Nations,on which this project will draw, use varying terminology, it was important tomove quickly with the development of a NATO Lexicon for Multiple Futures.

“Multiple Futures – NATO Beyond ISAF,” was a fitting starting pointfor attendees to deliberate on complex trends and tough challenges thatthe Alliance may face. Based on an analysis of the ACT 2007 FutureSecurity Environment and 19 national studies, it provided an overview ofsome themes likely to drive subsequent MF discussions. The subsequentdiscussions will include a series of focused round-tables in which experts

will continually challenge the project’s methodology anddeductions as well as broader workshops to discuss andfurther develop the intellectual framework. These discus-sions aim to capture a broad range of perspectives bothinternal and external to the Alliance and are meant toadd intellectual rigor to the process. The ongoing NATOmilitary-strategic dialogue will be regularly informed bythe MF project discussion and workshop events werepart of the July 2008 MC visit to HQ SACT as well as the SACT Seminar, in which the North AtlanticCouncil will be present.

The MF project is significant in terms of thebreadth and depth of its content, the engagement with nations and externalexperts and the management of the project itself. The project is beingwholly managed within ACT by the core team using the HQ SACT -PRINCE2 approach.

“Managing the project internally will ensure that the first and mostimportant objective – broad engagement and focused strategic dialogue –is best supported,” said Joergensen. “Moreover the approach will build the ACT corporate knowledge base and support organisational learning in complex strategic studies of this nature.”

The MF project will run through the spring of 2009 at which time a major Summary Conference will be held.

Mr. Stephan De Spiegeleire, Director Defence Transformationat the Hague Centre for Security Studies, speaks at AlliedCommand Transformation’s (ACT) Multiple Futures Projectkick-off meeting held in downtown Norfolk,Va. May 1.The two-day brainstorming session was held to establish an intel-lectual framework to support forward-looking NATO strategicdialogue. Photo by U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Crystal M. Raner

5

The MF Intellectual Framework will be developed over the course of the projectthrough a series of events including roundtablesand larger workshops.

The framework provides the vehicle to support military-strategic dialogue withinNATO and ultimately identify the military implications associated with the futures developed. The military implications will be the credible basis on which the best possiblemilitary advice is provided.

Participants in Roundtable 1 includedMembers of Parliament, experts from the UK Ministry of Defence and Foreign andCommonwealth Office and the Private Office of the Secretary General of NATO.

The morning “primer” session includedan academic perspective provided by Dr. TerryTerriff of Birmingham University and discussion

of the UK government work in examining and understanding strategic global trends.

Afternoon sessions examined themethodology used by ACT to derive the MFProject’s “Nine Key Drivers (of Change)” and the follow-on methodology used to develop theMF Intellectual Framework and presentation of an outline of four plausible Futures.

The outline Futures are equally likely and are based on a detailed study of two of the nine key drivers that are assessed as having the highest impact and highest uncer-tainty for the future security environment.

The outline Futures are influenced by the remainder of the drivers and written in a political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental context.

According to Royal Norwegian Navy

Cmdr. Kenneth Nilsen, Acting Strategic AnalysisBranch Head and Lead Analyst for the MFProject, “the intellectual framework needs to be sophisticated enough to capture complexityyet simple enough for its primary purpose – tosupport the ongoing military-strategic dialogue.”

Roundtable 1 was the first of threeroundtable discussions and two workshopsscheduled for the first phase of the MF project.An interactive session with the Chiefs ofTransformation Conference Working Group, the first broad engagement of Alliance nations,will also take place in the first phase.

Further information on the MF Project is available at http://transnet.act.nato.int/WISE/FSE.

6 The Transformer

Conference Shapes NATO Expeditionary Operations

By Mr. Roy ThorvaldsenACT Public Affairs Office

More than 125 expeditionary operations specialists from acrossNATO, member and Partner nations, the NATO-Russia Council and theUnited Nations gathered at the NATO Defense College in Rome for a two-day conference June 17-18.

Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (DSACT) Italian Navy Adm. Luciano Zappata along with other military leaders discussed the importance of defining how NATO can capitalise onExpeditionary Operations capabilities when conducting NATO operations and missions.

“This is the first time we have had an open forum to discuss howNATO forces could become more expeditionary in character and design,”Zappata said. “This is particularly important because there is still no official definition for Expeditionary Operations in NATO.”

The speakers stressed that the requirement for out-of-area operations will change the way the Alliance thinks, plans and executes its deployments to far-away places with little or no host nation support and for an extended period of time.

“We need to teach people how to think, not what to think,” saidNATO Defense College Commandant German Army Lt. Gen. Wolf-DieterLoeser to illustrate the need for creativity and flexibility, and the need to work in concert with other and non-military actors.

“We need to realise that this work [future Alliance Operations] can be done only in partnership; it requires the involvement of NATO and non-NATO, military and non-military agencies and actors; it underpins the need of shared views and increased exchange of information and collaboration between NATO and nations,” Zappata said.

“At the NATO Summit in Bucharest, Romania, earlier this year, the Heads of State and Government described NATO’s transformation

as a continual process, which demands constant and active attention.We need to work to further strengthen the common understanding oftransformation, when addressing our requirement tobe more deployable and expeditionary,” he said.

According to Dr. Jamie Shea, head of the policy planning branch at NATO Headquarters, the Alliance is going to continue to support others,such as the current peacekeeping operation in Darfur and providing defencestrategic advice to nations. He compared the requirement for flexibility andtailoring of future Alliance activities with ‘Lego’ toy building blocks that canbe put together in numerous different ways.

Zappata commented on the importance of flexibility of forces. “The rapidly changing security environment, the different scenarios wherethe Alliance could operate and the composition of the forces, which vary in quality and number, pose the challenge of building the flexible, modular,adaptable and interoperable forces and capabilities required to meet thefull range of Alliance missions. In the present and future scenarios the ‘one size fits all’ does not work,” Zappata said.

Allied Command Transformation (ACT) working groups, such asExpeditionary Operations Integrated Project Team and Multiple Futures are continuing to provide strategic counsel to improve the transformationof Alliance capabilities.

Left: A Chinook helicopter landsnear an Italian convoy as part ofan expeditionary operation (EO).The Alliance uses expeditionaryoperations to deploy mission-tailored military forces in a timely manner wherever they are needed in order to conduct continuous, distributed, non-contiguous operations throughoutan area of operations.Below: Spanish troops conducttraining. SHAPE Photos

7

By U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Crystal M. RanerACT Public Affairs Office

NATO and Partner nations gathered in Stockholm, Sweden for the fifth annual NATO & Partner Education and Training Network (NPETN)Conference held June 2-5.

The goal of this year’s conference was to bring together educationand training experts to further develop existing relationships, spread a uniform transformation message, and better serve the education and individual training require-ments of the Alliance and Partners.

According toLithuanian Army Brig. Gen. Arvydas Pocius,Allied Command Trans-formation’s (ACT) DeputyAssistant Chief of StaffJoint Education andTraining, NATO is con-stantly evolving and educa-tion and individual trainingare affected by the trans-formation process, as wellas ongoing operations.

“I believe that theNPETN, through dialogueand the exchange of information will enable HQ SACT to foster a common understanding of the importance of education and individualtraining as a major tool for the implementation of transformation through-out NATO and Partnernations,” he said.

Several new ACTinitiatives were discussedat the conference, such as NATO Education andIndividual TrainingManagement System(NEITMS), Counter-Improved Explosive Devise (C-IED) training, Intelligence training, JointAdvanced Distributed Learning Courses, ACT lead Support to Operationtraining events and Operational Package for Partner education and individual training.

The purpose of the education and training network is to provide

a forum for the discussion of any aspect of NATO & Partner MilitaryEducation and Individual Training between Allied Command Transformationand NPETN members; National Education and Training Centres, NATODefense College, NATO School, NATO CIS School, NATO MaritimeInterdiction Operational Training Centre, NATO Centres of Excellence and Partnership for Peace (PfP) Training Centres.

During the conference ACT promoted NATO’s Systems Approach to Training (SAT) which aims to provide a more effective, efficient and economical approach to training by consistently focusing on mission

essential tasks, the respective job requirements, and the necessary training objectives to be achieved, which will ultimately fulfill the job. SAT will be implemented via NEITMS.

Pocius encouraged the NATO and Partner training experts to use NEITMS in developing their education and training programmes.

NATO, ACT Wrap Up Education andTraining Conference in Sweden

A Canadian medic trains NATO soldiers on how to provide first-response care to medical casualties. NATO and its Partners are a part of a vast training and education network, which aims to provide standardisation in doctrine, procedures and methodologies to prepare themfor future operations. Canadian Department of National Defense Photo

8 The Transformer

NNEC Conference Promotes Alliance Interoperability

By ACT Public Affairs Office

The rapidly changing security environ-ment, different scenarios and the diverse composition of coalition forces require a need to further strengthen the information superiorityof our forces through networked capabilities.

This year’s NATO Network EnabledCapabilities (NNEC) Conference held in Antalya,Turkey April 30 to May 2 brought togetherexperts and senior decision makers to collaborate on these initiatives.

Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation Italian NavyAdm. Luciano Zappata was a keynote speaker during this year’s conferenceand explained the importance of improving the deployability and sustainabilityof Alliance forces. He said input from Nations is vital to achieving success.

“We need to know where the nations are going. We need to buildour vision based on elements provided by the nations,” he said.

The NNEC initiatives enhance the ability to plug and play nationalcapabilities into the NATO infrastructure. NNEC brings together variousstakeholders with the common goal of aligning the NNEC-related efforts of the Alliance and its member and partner nations by adopting commoninteroperability specifications and architectures.

“We need to bring together operators and technology providers toshape and implement new capabilities that transform the way warfightersoperate on the field,” he said.

As NATO’s catalyst for change, ACT plays a key role in this. NNEC is a core business of ACT. “ACT wants to contribute and promotethe understanding of the big picture to ensure overall coherence and consistency of the efforts done cooperatively,” Zappata said. “We want to be mediators and facilitators, and to act as brokers leveraging on thenational perspectives to ensure the nations and NATO have the sameunderstanding of concepts and requirements.

NATO Turkish forces conduct a communication linking exercise. NATO Photo

Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation Italian Navy Adm. Luciano Zappata speaks with RoyalNetherlands Army Maj. Gen. Koen Gijsbers, ACT'sAssistant Chief of Staff Command, Control,Communication, Computers and Intelligence (C4I) and Turkish Army Lt. Gen. Ergin Saygun, Deputy Chief of Turkish General Staff during the 2008 NATO Network Enabled Capability (NNEC) conference held in Antalya, Turkey. ACT Photo

By NATO Public Affairs Office

Seven NATO nations and Allied Command Transformation signed the documents for the formal establishment of a Cooperative CyberDefence (CCD) Centre of Excellence (COE) in Tallin, Estonia.

U.S. Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, NATO’s Supreme AlliedCommander Transformation, and Lt. Gen. Ants Laaneots, Estonian Chief of Defence, signed the Memorandum of Understanding.

The centre will conduct researchand training on cyber warfare andinclude a staff of 30 persons, half ofthem specialists from the sponsoringcountries, Estonia, Germany, Italy,Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Spain.

“The need for a cyber defence centre to be opened today is compelling,” said Mattis, at thesigning ceremony, “it will help NATOdefy and successfully counter thethreats in this area.”

Countering Cyber CrimeThe agreement comes after a majorcyber attack on Estonian public and private institutions prompted NATO to conduct a thorough assessment of its approach to cyber defence. Attheir meeting in October 2007, Allied Defence Ministers called for thedevelopment of a NATO cyber defence policy which was adopted early 2008.

In April, the Bucharest Summit Declaration paved the way for the establishment of the Estonian COE, emphasising the need for NATOmembers to protect key information systems and develop the ability tocounter a cyber attack.

Contributing to TransformationNATO-accredited CoEs provide recognised subject matter expertise in support of transformation and interoperability, especially in the fields of doctrine and concept development and validation, training, education and exercises, as well as analysis and lessons learned.

They are funded nationally or multinationally and have individual relationships with NATO formalised through memoranda of understanding.

NATO has nine fully accredited COEs, the Centre for Analysis & Simulation for the Preparation of Air Operations (CASPOA), the Civil -Military Cooperation (CIMIC) COE, the Cold Weather Operations (CWO)COE, the combined Joint Operations from the Sea (CJOS) COE, theCommand & Control (C2) COE, the Joint Air Power Competence Centre(JAPCC) COE, the Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiation, & Nuclear Defence(JCBRN Defence) COE and the Naval Mine Warfare (EGUERMIN) COE.

NATO Opens New Centre of Excellence on Cyber Defence

Right to left: U.S. Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, Estonian Chief of Defence Lt. Gen. Ants Laaneots, and Estonian Army Lt. Col. Ilmar Tamm address media following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding establishing the Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence. NATO Photo

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10 NATO Nations SignMilitary EngineeringCentre of ExcellenceMemorandum ofUnderstandingBy Philippa Gibb, ACT Public Affairs Office

Headquarters, Supreme AlliedCommander Transformation hosted the signingof the Memorandum of Understanding for thetenth NATO Centre of Excellence (CoE), theMilitary Engineering CoE (MILENG) July 9.

A CoE is a nationally or multi-nationally

sponsored entity, which is not part of the NATOcommand structure, offering recognised expert-ise, experience and education to the benefit of theAlliance, especially in support of transformation.

Ten NATO Nations signed theMemorandum of Understanding. The sponsoring Nations include: Belgium, Canada,Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland,Romania, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

German Army Lt. Col. Norbert Scholz,Director of the MILENG CoE stated that thecentre’s mission is to provide joint and com-bined military engineer subject matter expertiseto support NATO’s military transformation andto enhance the Alliance’s interoperability in the

field of military engineering. “We aim to create a full-time, profess-

ional capacity for military engineering issues to support country development, NATO stabilisationand interoperability. In this context Military Engi-neering will be combined and joint,” said Scholz.

Military Engineering is being usedincreasingly by armed forces to give them thetechnical edge over the enemy, while denyingadversaries their own full potential.

“In war it doesn’t matter what your commitment is, it depends on how good you are at what you’re doing and engineers areabsolutely essential to our work,” said NATO’sSupreme Allied Commander Transformation U.S. Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis.

10 The Transformer

ACT,USJFCOM Hold CD&E Conference in IstanbulBy JWC Public Affairs Office

Prior to the actual exercise, planners and organisers gathered for a scripting workshop to finalise the incident development and to script all associated injects for Steadfast Juncture which took place this past Spring.

The specific objectives were to:• Familiarise all participants with friendly force and Situational Forces

(SITFOR) lay-downs at the start of the exercise, script all Injects withinIncidents with a focus on adding realistic detail,

• Develop Actions to take place within the computer simulation to target specific Exercise and Training Objectives,

• Refine and develop expected outcomes for Incidents and Injects ensuring they are observable and are focused on the Exercise and Training Objectives,

• Ensure sufficient functional area and Component-level play to meet Training Objectives and Training Audience desired level of ambition.

Exercise Steadfast Juncture 08 (SFJE 08) is a NATO ResponseForce (NRF) four-phase Command Post Exercise (CPX) in a NATO-ledCrisis Response Operation (CRO) under Chapter VII of the Charter of theUnited Nations, beyond NATO’s Area of Responsibility. SFJE 08 is a two-level Combined Joint exercise, utilizing NATO’s land-based Deployable JointTask Force (DJTF) Headquarters capability. SFJE 08 focussed on executionof an NRF stand-alone CRO, including Initial Entry. The aim was to train,integrate and evaluate the NRF 11 command structure.

Commander, NATO Deployable Operations GroupBy U.S. Navy Capt. Rich VogelCommander, NATO Deployable Operations Group

“Our syndicate has been working on International and Non-Governmental Organizations as well as host nation interaction with the scenario. Specifically, we have focused on detention; prisoners captured by the combatant forces, and human trafficking. We had a very good team.Our incidents were less complex than many, because they were singleevents. They didn’t have far reaching,long durations. The teams pulled ittogether and we created challengingscenarios for the NATO ResponseForce. Currently, Headquarters ACThas 200 US Navy and one US ArmyReservists assigned. When we doexercises we also receive augmenta-tion from other nations from theirreserves. Usually, each SteadfastExercise receives between 20-30 augmentees for the actual execution.I am the only ACT Reservist nowscripting the exercise. I think it hasbeen very interesting to be involved in the first-time scripting of a newscenario. It will be interesting to seethe impact of our scripting efforts.”

Above:U.S. Navy Capt. Rich Vogel and otherSteadfast Juncturescript writers look over a map and discuss exercise scenarios.

Left:ACT Capt.Vogel. JWC Photos

By JFTC Public Affairs Office

Allied Command Transformation’s Joint ForceTraining Centre (JFTC) in Bydgoszcz, Poland opened its doors to NATO’s Military Committee (MC) June 6.

Joined by the Chief of the Polish GeneralStaff Gen. Franciszek Gagor, the Alliance’s top 26-

military representatives, key leaders from NATO’s two strategic commandsand the International Military Staff, had the opportunity to learn about the

Centre’s unique role in supporting training for NATO and Partner forces to improve joint and combined tactical interoperability.

As the senior military representative for the Alliance, the MCChairman is responsible for recommending to NATO’s political authorities,the North Atlantic Council (NAC), those measures considered necessary for the common defence of the Alliance and for the implementation of decisions regarding NATO operations and missions.

Training centres, such as the JFTC are vital to the Alliance and its Partners ability to improve their capabilities and interoperability. JFTC Director Danish Army Maj. Gen. Agner Rokos briefed the visitors on the Centre’s mission, its programme of work for 2008-2009, as well as the current status of the new JFTC facility’s construction.

NATO’s Military Committee Visits ACT’s Joint ForceTraining Centre

JAPCC to Hold AnnualConference

The Joint Air Power Com-petence Centre(JAPCC), NATO’sAir Power Centreof Excellence, will hold its annual conference October 14-16,2008 in Kleve, Germany.

JFTC Director, Polish MOD SignTechnical ArrangementBy JFTC Public Affairs Office

Undersecretary of State of the Polish Ministry of DefenceMr. Stanisaw J. Komorowski and JFTC Director Danish ArmyMaj. Gen. Agner Rokos signed a Technical Arrangement (TA)document May 16 detailing the responsibilities of Poland, as the Receiving State, to support the functionality of the JointForce Training Centre, its personnel and the participants in the Centre’s activities.

The TA signing marks the conclusion of the Memorandumof Agreement (MA) between the Government of Poland andHeadquarters Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (HQ SACT) which was signed in April 2005.

Former Chairman of the Military Committee(CMC) Canadian Forces Gen. Ray Henaultand the Military Committee visited theCentre to learn about its unique role in supporting training.

11

The theme of this year’sconference is “Joint air and spacepower and decision superiority in the 21st Century.”

JAPCC, located in Kalkar,Germany, consists of oint air powerexperts from 17 NATO Nations whopromote advocacy and transformationof joint air and space power withinNATO. JAPCC’s mission is to be the air and space power transformationagent for the Alliance and participatingNations, providing innovative, timelyadvice and subject matter expertise, both proactively and responsively.

The centre, with a strategic and operational level focus, offers independent thought, analysis and solutions.

The conference will provide high-level input and guidance on the role and contribution of joint air and space power in achieving thetransformational goal of decision superiority.Conference results will be used to confirm or update products such as the NATO Space Operations Assessment being developed at JAPCC.

Additional information about JAPCC, its products and the conference are available at www.japcc.org.

12 The Transformer

A Brush with Diplomacy: AddingTrue Value to the NATOTransformation AgendaBy Mr Chuck Ridgway, NATO CivilianJALLC Production Branch Office

On June 5, 2008, the Joint AnalysisLessons Learned Centre (JALLC) hosted a special group of visitors. JALLC Director DanishArmy Brig. Gen. Jørgen Hansen-Nord had invitedthe ambassadors of all NATO countries toPortugal to attend a presentation introducing theCentre and its mission. We were pleased to beable to welcome 14 ambassadors or theirdeputies and seven defence attachés, as well asrepresentatives from the Portuguese Ministry ofForeign Affairs and the Ministry of Defence. Inaddition, SACT Political Advisor Amb. WayneNeill had come to Lisbon to represent HQ SACTand to support the JALLC, drawing on his extensive experience as a diplomat.

The idea for this event grew out of a desire to make the presence of JALLC and its mission in the Alliance more visible to the diplomatic corps of the NATONations here in Portugal. In fact, as we discovered, some of the embassieswere not aware that JALLC even exists, much less is located within just a few kilometres of their residences, until their invitations arrived.

Our guests were welcomed by the Director over coffee before proceeding to the JALLC auditorium for the presentations. Here, ourLessons Learned Analysis Division Chief, British Army Col. Steve Watkin,briefed the visitors on the JALLC mission, history, organisation and recentactivities. This was followed by a presentation from British Navy Lt. Cdr.Brian Marsh who described a project for which he had been project manager on Provincial Reconstruction Teams and Civil Military Cooperation(CIMIC) in ISAF. Although he listed some of the major findings in the report,which was released earlier this year, Marsh focused on how the projectwas conducted and the report produced in order to illustrate JALLC

analysis methodologies. A question and answer sessionfollowed, with several insightfulquestions from the ambassadorsthat showed they had alreadygrasped some of the challengesJALLC faces, like how lessonsare implemented after they have been identified in a JALLCreport. This is of course, as we explained, the role of theACT/ACO Lessons Learned

Working Group coordinating with assigned action bodies.After a short break, Neill took the floor and gave an insightful talk

on the need for change and the importance of transformation in NATO,then described ACT's role therein. He touched on the outcomes of theBucharest Summit, the increased need for CIMIC to counter today’s asymmetrical threat (although his comment that this “new” concept hasactually been around since the Peloponnesian War was quite telling), thefact that NATO will nearly always work with other partners, and the need to develop national capabilities and improve interoperability. He closed by describing ACT’s Multiple Futures project and how it will contribute totransformation. This was good stuff for an audience aware of, but not nec-essarily intimately familiar with, happenings at the strategic level of NATO.

The visit concluded with a buffet luncheon at the Monsanto Mess on the compound of the Portuguese Air Force Operational HQ, whereJALLC is located. Base commander Lt. Gen. Alfredo Perreira da Cruz PRT F had placed this dining facility, widely regarded as the best in thePortuguese military, at our disposal for the event. The luncheon providedJALLC staff an opportunity to chat informally with the diplomatic represen-tatives of their own nations and conversely for the diplomats and attachésto get to know better the individuals who make JALLC go.

Overall, this simple yet effective event was much appreciated by thevisitors and, as they continually reaffirmed, contributed significantly to theirawareness of NATO activities in Portugal as well as exposing them to theconcept of NATO Transformation at the wider, strategic level.

Ambassadors, their deputies, defence attaches, representatives from the PortugueseMinistries of Defence and Foreign Affairs visited the Joint Analysis Lessons LearnedCentre in June. JALLC Photo

JALLC Director Danish Army Brig.Gen. Jørgen Hansen-Nord and HQSACT Political Advisor Amb. WayneNeill listen to presentations during arecent diplomatic visit at the Centre. JALLC Photo

“He touched on... the need to develop nationalcapabilities and improve interoperability.”

13

By U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Crystal M. RanerACT Public Affairs Office

Allied Command Transformation (ACT) held thefirst ‘Pilot' Concept Development and Experimentation(CD&E) orientation course at the NATO School inOberammergau, Germany May 19-23.

Twenty-two students, representing 10 NATO nations and four NATO entities and agencies,gathered to learn about the CD&E process, its vastnetwork within the Alliance and its partnerships withkey supporting organisations. Attendees also gainedpractical experience from others who are working toidentify the best solutions not only from a technicalperspective, but also for challenges involving doctrine,organisation, training, and materiel to achieve significant advances in support of current and future NATO missions.

ACT’s Joint Experimentation, Exercises andAssessment’s Futures & Engagements (F&E) Branchis the Office of Primary Responsibility (OPR) for thecourse and Allied Command Operation’s CapabilityManagement Directorate serves as the Co-OPR.

ACT instructors provided the course frame-work for educating and training potential NATO ornational CD&E staff officers, who will be expected to take new operational concepts, from their nationsor other sources, assess their viability and value, andhelp bring them to maturity through doctrine develop-ment, scientific research, experimentation and technological development.

The course ran over five days, with each day being devoted to thefollowing modules of study: Introduction/Background Information, ConceptDevelopment, Experimentation, Practical Techniques, Tutorial and CaseStudy, and the Way-Ahead for CD&E. Modules addressed specific topicssuch as the ACT CD&E role in transformation; Concept Development

definition and types; principles of Experimentation, Analysis, Modelling and Simulation; and case studies to help highlight the interactions within CD&E.

During the course, participants were required to complete survey sheets.

“Survey results were uniformly positive,” said Spanish Army Maj.Jose Latorre, Futures and Engagement Branch instructor at the course.“The students’ comments looked favourably on course structure, briefingsand the instructors’ professionalism. They also made recommendations for future courses.”

Before his closing remarks on the course, F&E Branch Head Turkish Navy Capt. Nejat Atilla Demirhan presented a video message from Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation Italian Navy Adm. Luciano Zappata. Zappata explained ACT’s transformational efforts in defining common roadmaps, standards, architectures, and frameworksfor various development processes, summarised ACT’s work in designing and delivering the orientation course and thanked students for their participation in the CD&E education and training process.

In his summary, Demirhan pointed out that the course, a first of its kind in NATO, had been well received and would be improvedbased upon the recommendations of the Nations and future requirements of NATO.

ACT has requested the CD&E orientation course be held twice a year, of which one will be open to Partner nations. The next CD&E course is planned to take place at the NATO School in December 2008.

ACT Holds First Pilot Orientation Course for Future Concept Developers

Twenty-two students representing 10 NATO Nations and four NATO entities and agencies gathered for the first pilot Concept Development and Experimentation (CD&E) orientation course held May 19-13 in Oberammergau, Germany. NATO School Photo

“The students’ comments looked favourablyon course structure, briefings and theinstructors’ professionalism. They also made recommendations for future courses.”

14 The Transformer

NURC-Latvian Collaboration Demonstrates AUV Technology for Mine-HuntingBy NURC Information Services Office

The NATO Research Vessel (NRV) Alliance was in Latvian watersrecently engaged in a collaborative sea trial (COLLOSSUS 2) betweenNURC and the Latvian Navy to test a range of modern mine-hunting systems based on autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and to collectdata to further the development of automatic target recognition (ATR).

The areas in Riga bay and around Liepâja on the western coast of Riga remain largely unsurveyedfor old ordnance. This added to the challenges posed by the area’s complexseabed types, high levels of clutter (bothnatural and man-made) and commercialtraffic. The data collected during the trial are highly valuable for NURC’s ATRdevelopment and for the Latvian Navy’smine clearance programme.

NURC researchers used theCentre’s new MUSCLE AUV, equippedwith a high frequency synthetic aperturesonar (SAS) to perform large areasearch and survey, and the REMUS AUV for small area search, inspection missions and very shallow water surveys. Supporting environmental and oceanographic measurements as well as seabed camera surveys were also performed.

The Latvian Navy providedvaluable support to ensure that theresearch area was clear from other vessels throughout the trial. LatvianNavy LtSG Deniss Jelcovs embarked onNRV Alliance for the duration of the trial to coordinate operations. He also obtained hands-on experience with the AUV systems by assisting with planning missions, launch and recovery, and post mission data analysis.

Over six terabytes of data were collected during the sea trial, and a large number of mine-like objects were found. These data were provided to Latvia’s Mine Warfare Data Centre for inclusion in the national data base and also the Baltic Ordnance Pilot.

The sea trial successfully demonstrated that AUVs, and the supporting data/image processing techniques being developed at NURC,are able to perform faster searches in large complex areas, producing high quality images with improved resolution. This technology is expected to enable the transformation of mine-hunting techniques in the next generation of Mine Warfare equipment, addressing some of NATO’s Long Term Capability Requirements, while complementing existing mine-hunting methods in the interim.

Top: Members of the Latvian Ministry of Defence being briefed by NURC DirectorDr François-Régis Martin-Lauzer during their visit aboard the NRV Alliance. Bottom: Ltsg jelcovs.jpg: LtSG Deniss Jelcovs of the Latvian Navy reviewing images from the MUSCLE AUV with a NURC engineer. NURC Photos

“This technology is expected to enable thetransformation of mine-hunting techniques in the next generation of Mine Warfare equipment....”

15

By Michal Olejarnik, NC3A Belgium Office

Due to the involvement of Allied CommandTransformation (ACT) in capability development, the NATO Consultation, Command and ControlAgency (NC3A) and Allied Command Operation’s(ACO) planners, now have a powerful new tool attheir fingertips – TOPFAS (Tool for OperationalPlanning, Force Activation and Simulation).

This advanced operational planning tool, which was demonstrated to NATO’s topCommanders at Exercise Allied Reach 08 bySHAPE’s Assistant Chief of Staff Plans and PolicyBrig. Gen. Simon Porter, is another example of a tangible transformation success story.

Under ACT’s direction, sponsorship andleadership, the NC3A developed the tool from an initial concept into a full-fledged capability, which now uses the latest in operational planning techniques and technology to provide an effectivecomprehensive approach to operations tools forACO’s planners, as demonstrated by Porter.

Facilitating a Planner’s Life“TOPFAS is a decision support system for operational campaign planning,supporting - but not limited to - NATO’s operational planning process,” said David Beach, head of the NC3A Field Office, Norfolk. “It is integratedwith other NATO tools to support systems analysis and campaign assessment, providing seamless transition of products between various functions.”

Leveraging military expertise, TOPFAS increases planning consistency, shortens planning cycles and improves collaboration.

Web Based Information SharingThe information content created by planners using TOPFAS can be sharedwith the wider community using Web technology. A TOPFAS portal dynami-cally publishes the information created by analysts, planners and assessorsto those who need it, whereas TOPFAS Web Services provide the sameinformation to other planning or command and control (C2) tools.

Easy Generation of Documents“TOPFAS frees up planners from briefing and document generation to concentrate on the substance,” added Beach. “The Bookmark Managerallows briefings to be given directly from the tool. Export capability to MS PowerPoint is also available. All major planning documents canbe automatically generated in MS Word from the information entered into the tools and using organisation specific style sheets or templates. Ad-hoc documents can be designed and generated on the fly.”

How It HappenedThe first laboratory trials of TOPFAS started in 2000 and were followed by a series of validation experiments through to 2003. Since 2003, theTOPFAS operational prototype has been fielded as an interim capability. In June 2008, sponsored by ACT, TOPFAS 2.5 was released to support the new operational planning process.

The project is now being ‘industrialised’ as part of the NATOSecurity Investment Programme (NSIP), and will deliver an operationalbaseline capability in two increments: TOPFAS 3.0 and 4.0 in January and June 2009 respectively.

Would You Like to Become a TOPFAS User?TOPFAS is available to NATO’s member nations for official governmentaluse. If you would like to become a user, please contact the POCs at thebottom of this article.

ACT and NC3A – Partners in TransformationTOPFAS is just one example of the capabilities that ACT and NC3A are collaborating on to deliver operational capabilities to the Commandersand their staffs. Other success stories include the NATO Friendly ForceTracking Interface, and the ISAF C4I Enabled Capability (ICECAP) Conceptand Snow Leopard projects which have been featured in past issues of this publication.

For more information on TOPFAS or to order a copy of the software,contact the NC3A Field Office in Norfolk +1-757-747-3192, or U.S. NavyLt. Cmdr. Clay Wilson, in ACT’s Futures, Capabilities, Research andTechnology Branch, +1-757-747-3940.

Delivering Innovation:PlanningTool Goes from Concept to Capability

16 The Transformer

NATO Military Public Affairs Education & TrainingBy Canadian Navy Cmdr. John Coppard, ACT Joint PA Training Officer

Napoleon famously declared “Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets.” That was certainly true in the early nineteenth century, and if anything, is even truer today. With the 24 hour news cycle and global media convergence, a comment made by a NATO soldier to a local reporter in Helmand can be reported on televisionin a major European capital moments later. Depending on the nature of the comment, the results can be dramatic. Public opinion in a key troopcontributing nation can be altered, overall confidence in the mission can be affected, or local people can perceive NATO’s presence in their countryin a very different light. In the 21st Century media environment, the stakes are too high for public affairs to be regarded as an “add on” - it’s core NATO business.

This is why the Bucharest Summit Declaration recognised thattoday’s information environment: “underlines the need for appropriate, timely, accurate and responsive communication…in international opera-tions.” To put action behind these words, NATO’s Military Committeerecently approved a new and improved military Public Affairs (PA) policy,MC 457/1 (Sep 07). The document fosters a culture of openness andtransparency in NATO communications, expands the original definition of Public Information to include Internal Communications and CommunityRelations under a broader definitionof “Public Affairs,” affirms PA as acommand responsibility, and empha-sises the importance of various NATOHeadquarters resourcing and staffingPA offices with properly trained personnel. The policy was quickly followed by Allied CommandOperations’ Jun 08 publication of an update to its PA Directive 95-1,which includes an invaluable referencehandbook for NATO PAOs on how to do a multitude of PA tasks fromdrafting news releases, to organizingnews conferences, to setting up awebsite. To put these policies intoaction, NATO’s Public DiplomacyDivision (PDD) estimates that theAlliance collectively needs to educateand train up to 200 Public Affairs Officers (PAOs) more than those neededfor national posts to continuously fill NATO PE and CE billets.

Allied Command Transformation’s two-person Public AffairsEducation and Training section is supporting this wider effort through an aggressive strategy to increase overall levels of education and trainingamongst those designated to serve in NATO PA billets. Specifically, thesection is working with Members and Partners with English-language, PA education and training programmes to adopt NATO terminology and

standards and make seats available to allies; empowering nations wishingto establish PA training programmes with tested courseware and partners;collaborating with NATO School (Oberammergau) to overhaul and improvethe NATO PA Course; and providing direct education and training supportwhere and when possible.

So far these efforts have scored a number of key successes, including Canada’s Defence Public Affairs Learning Centre (DPALC)’s

development of a test NATO-orientedbasic PA Course to be held for up to 15 NATO students from Sept. 23–Oct. 2, 2008 in Ottawa; the Swiss Partnership for Peace (PfP)Communications Course’s adoption of NATO terminology and standardsand allocation of priority seats toNATO members; the addition of moreoperational content and observer/assessors, and a simulated media/production element to the NATO PACourse; and the establishment of a PA training website so NATO members can learn about educationand training opportunities and estab-lish a wider “community of practice” in PA. Additionally, ACT has beenworking closely with the UK’s Defence

Media Operations Centre (DMOC) and the US’s Defense Information School(DINFOS) to encourage individual NATO-supportive training initiatives, and solicit increased instructor support for NATO requirements.

The improvement of overall training levels of PAOs in NATO is the first step towards making the Bucharest Declaration goal of moreresponsive NATO communications a reality. But NATO cannot accomplishthis on its own. The Alliance requires national PA education and traininginstitutions to continue to work with - and support - the rest of the Alliance.The result will benefit not just the Alliance, but member nations as well.

ACT Public Affairs Launches New PA Joint Educationand Training Web SiteTo learn more about Public Affairs Educationand Training opportunities, visit: www.act.nato.int under“Organization,” “Education and Training.” You can also e-mail paotraining@ act.nato.int or call Cmdr. John Coppard at +1-757-747-3756, or Ms. Andrea Eperjesi at +1-757-747-3771.

Students conduct a simulated news conference. NATO School Photo

17

By U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer Crystal M. RanerAct Public Affairs Office

Headquarters, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation staff members met with four NATO permanent representatives(PERMREPS) May 29 to discuss key transformationalissues of mutual importance.

Earlier that month, U.S. Marine Corps Gen.James Mattis travelled to the NATO Headquarters inBrussels to address the North Atlantic Council (NAC)on Allied Command Transformation’s (ACT) supportto current operations, training and lessons learned.As a result, Ambassadors Zoltan Martinusz (HUN),Stefano Stefanini (ITA), Kim Traavik (NOR), andStewart Eldon (GBR) came to the Hampton Roadsarea to further develop their collaborative relationshipwith the NATO strategic command and to addresstheir national concerns.

A PERMREP represents his/her nation as amember of the NAC, which is the principle decision-making body within NATO. The PERMREPs are supported by a national delegation composed ofadvisers and officials who represent their country ondifferent NATO committees. They act on instructionfrom their capitals, informing and explaining the viewsand the policy decisions of their governments to theircolleagues around the table. Conversely they reportback to their national authorities on the viewsexpressed and positions taken by other governments,informing them of new developments and keeping themabreast of movement toward consensus on importantissues or areas where national positions diverge.

According to Deputy Supreme AlliedCommander Transformation Italian Navy Adm.Luciano Zappata, ACT desires to close gaps withinthe Alliance and Partner nations. In many cases, gapsare widening as nations pursue different policies ondefence spending and put different levels of effort inresearch and development. The outcome of thisincreasing asymmetry might be the emergence ofinteroperability problems that impact significantly theeffectiveness of NATO forces in the field. In workingwith Heads of State, Government and PERMREPs,Zappata sees ACT continuing to address this problem aggressively and being proactive in helpingNATO and nations make their decisions once they are informed about what common standards andarchitectures to implement.

In opening the morning discussions, ACT’s Deputy Chief of Transformation U.S. Air

Force Gen. James Soligan introduced to the PERMREPs the topics ACT leaders will address.

“We will focus on the outcomes of whatACT delivers and/or contributes in reference to thework that is ongoing in nations and the ability of the nations in NATO to work together,” said Soligan.“In reference to the ACT to nations and nations to NATO interoperability pieces, we’ve had a very active support role with NC3A [NATO Consultation,Command and Control]; and with your national forces in preparing for the interoperability discussion we will have today.”

Topics of discussion included a follow on from the May 13 NAC meeting and included: balancing short and long term objectives; applying the Comprehensive Approach to Operations, such as training for Partners, local forces, Snow Leopard,and Lessons Learned; and responding to PERMREPS questions.

The afternoon discussions promoted an open dialogue between the PERMREPs and ACT key leaders on present day priorities inBrussels, how ACT can help their efforts and howACT can make its products more understandable and usable for the Nations.

In support of its commitment to Nations,ACT encourages Nations to share their strategic planning initiatives for transforming their militaryforces, and in turn ACT can facilitate and provide valuable feedback to leverage a holistic transform-ational perspective to Nations and NATO.

To ensure methodologies and best practices are coherent throughout the Allianceand to assist Nations’ efforts, ACT continues tostrengthen its collaboration, coordination and information sharing with audiences and agencies such as the PERMREPs, national think-tanks, academia, national Centres of Excellence, and industry. These kind of partnerships, which are basedon intellectual and technical expertise, can directlyimpact how successful the Nations and the Allianceare in equipping themselves with agile, deployable,and interoperable forces capable of supporting current NATO missions and operations and respond-ing to uncertain security threats in the future.

Four NATO Permanent RepresentativesSit Down with HQ SACT’s Top Leadership

Above: The North Atlantic Council, which is comprised of PermanentRepresentatives or Ambassadors from each NATO nation, convened with invitedattendees during the Bucharest Summit held in Romania April 2008. NATO Photo

Visited:Collaboratingand InformationSharing withNationsJuly 8: Slovak Chief of Defence Gen. Lubomir Bulik visited HQ SACT

June 25: Sweden’s Chief ofDefence Gen. Hakan Syren visited HQ SACT to discusscooperative initiatives

June 20: HQ SACT hostedCzech Republic’s Chief ofDefence Lt. Gen.Vlastimil Picek

June 18: NATO DefenceCounsellors visited HQ SACT

June 11: ACT introduced futureNATO German staff officers totransformational agenda

June 5: Belgian Minister ofDefence His Excellency Pieter de Crem visited HQ SACT

May 28: U.S. Ambassador to NATO (Designate) HisExcellency Ambassador Kurt Volker visits HQ SACT

Full articles on all the interna-tional visits mentioned abovecan be found on the ACT website, www.act.nato.int in its news archive section.