23 October 2018 marks the 15th anniversary of the Joint Warfare Centre (JWC) in Stavanger, Norway.
Since its establishment, the JWC has been designated as NATO´s premier training organization at the operational level and the lead for building, designing and executing the Alliance Command Post Exercises provided through the annual Military Training and Exercise Programme.
In addition to exercises and related activities, the JWC has played a pivotal role in shaping NATO doctrine, lessons learned, experimentation and capability development.
As NATO’s footprint in the Northern region, the JWC focuses on training NATO Command and Force Structure headquarters and contributing to their ability to conduct full-spectrum, joint operational-level warfare.
The JWC is also a first-rate warfare centre, supporting NATO warfare development and the Alliance’s future military capacity to cope with the constantly evolving security environment.
In honour of NATO Joint Warfare Centre turning 15, we would like to share a special video featuring testimonials from the Norwegian Minister of Defence, the NATO Secretary General and various NATO Commanders! #WeAreNATO
In total, the JWC has trained approximately 68,0001 personnel from Allies and Partner Nations since 2004.
“The JWC has always been the centrepiece of NATO’s military Transformation, serving as the link between Allied Command Operations and Allied Command Transformation (ACT), implementing and operationalizing Transformational efforts as directed by the ACT, for the benefit of the NATO Command Structure and NATO Force Structure headquarters, the Alliance and Partners. Serving at the JWC here in Stavanger is the most unique and rewarding experience for all of us,” said Major General Andrzej Reudowicz, Commander JWC.
The JWC was established following the decision made at the 2002 Prague Summit to launch one of NATO's most ambitious restructuring processes until then.
In a keynote speech delivered at the JWC’s inauguration ceremony in the afternoon of 23 October 2003, Admiral Edmund P. Giambastiani, Jr. (Ret.), NATO’s first Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, described the JWC as “the Jewel in the Crown of Allied Command Transformation” and said: “The Joint Warfare Centre is not the typical NATO peacetime headquarters that we associate with the Alliance. It provides a unique warfare capability that will help NATO’s joint and combined warfighters meet the challenges of today and anticipate the challenges of the future.”
On Tuesday 23 October, the JWC and the local community will join together to celebrate the Centre’s 15th anniversary in Stavanger, Norway.
The unveiling of the Joint Warfare Centre's logo on 23 October 2003 by Admiral Edmund P. Giambastiani, Jr. (Ret.), NATO’s first Supreme Allied Commander Transformation. Photo by JWC PAO
1 The number involves only the execution phase of the exercises as of August 2018.