STAVANGER, Norway – Vice Admiral Simon Asquith CB OBE, NATO Allied Command Transformation’s (ACT) Chief of Staff, paid his first visit to the Joint Warfare Centre (JWC) on March 20, 2025, to learn more about the JWC’s organization and capabilities as NATO’s premier provider of operational and strategic level multi-domain exercises.
Vice Admiral Asquith was warmly welcomed to the JWC by Major General Ruprecht von Butler, Commander JWC, and Brigadier General Raymond L. Adams, the Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff.
Following an office call with the JWC leadership, Vice Admiral Asquith received in-depth briefings about the JWC’s exercise and training construct, including the exercise control organization, simulation technologies and wargame design capabilities. The Vice Admiral then attended a round-table discussion in the afternoon, which focused on JWC’s funding and organizational change initiatives.
During the all-hands call, Vice Admiral Asquith thanked the JWC staff for their commitment to NATO’s transformation and outlined ACT’s priorities for the future while highlighting the need for constant adaptation and innovation.
The Joint Warfare Centre plays a central role in accelerating the transformation of NATO’s military capabilities. Our ability to deter, to defend, and, if necessary, to defeat, is our centre of gravity. We are back to what I think NATO is all about. And I don’t think there has ever been a time where the work that the Joint Warfare Centre does has been more important than it is today.
– Vice Admiral Simon Asquith,
Allied Command Transformation Chief of Staff
The Vice Admiral added: “NATO is contested by highly capable adversaries in all five domains: land, air, maritime, cyberspace, and space. How do we transform ourselves and the broader Alliance at the speed of relevance to be able to meet complex challenges? How do we train the future multi-domain force? How do we integrate new technologies? We need to look toward the future, and we must approach challenges in a different way. So, it is not just about preparing for the future; it is about shaping the future. The urgency with which we need to do that is really apparent.”
Vice Admiral Asquith then shared ACT’s three priorities under Admiral Pierre Vandier, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT):
- Understanding the future environment and focusing on finding new ways to engage, contest, and fight across all of the five domains.
- Delivering critical national and common-funded capabilities to support NATO’s mission at a much quicker rate.
- Decoding the changing security environment to better develop future force designs and capabilities.
Vice Admiral Asquith stressed: “The Joint Warfare Centre is an absolutely fundamental part of the ACT family, and it is also fundamental to Admiral Vandier’s vision for how we transform the Alliance.”
The Joint Warfare Centre is the apex of Allied Command Transformation’s relationship with Allied Command Operations. Through the training you deliver, through the mindsets you can change, and by establishing opportunities for advancing warfare development, you are driving positive change throughout the Alliance. Thank you for a fantastic visit and for your outstanding delivery.
– Vice Admiral Simon Asquith,
Allied Command Transformation Chief of Staff
Established in 2003 subordinate to Allied Command Transformation, the Joint Warfare Centre is NATO’s training focal point for full-spectrum joint operational- and strategic-level warfare.
Major General Ruprecht von Butler, Commander JWC, announced the Centre’s new vision on March 6, 2025:
To support the Alliance in being prepared for the threats of tomorrow, we will propel NATO’s crisis response and warfighting concepts into readiness by delivering challenging, technologically integrated and multi-domain operational and strategic exercises and training events.
We will always integrate innovation and experimentation in order to find new ways and be bold in executing our mission.
In this way, we ensure the Alliance maintains superior decision-making capabilities and further develops its warfighting advantage.
