The Head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Delegation to the EU, NATO, and the Kingdom of Belgium, Walter A. Füllemann, was welcomed to the Joint Warfare Centre (JWC) by Commander, Polish Army Major General Andrzej Reudowicz on Wednesday, 4 July 2018.
Mr Füllemann was accompanied by the ICRC's Armed Forces Delegate, Xavier Godefroid.
The meeting in Stavanger focused on a wide range of topics, including current activities and shared priorities between the two organizations, NATO’s Comprehensive Approach, Exercise TRIDENT JUNCTURE 2018 – the largest exercise of the Alliance since 2015 – and the importance of ICRC’s participation in NATO exercises.
During a meeting with Major General Reudowicz, Mr Füllemann presented a handbook entitled “ICRC Exercise Handbook” (May 2018), which is an ICRC initiative designed to bring awareness and advise on practical measures of ICRC participation in NATO exercises to assist both NATO and ICRC personnel in their understanding of each other’s role and scope.
The visit programme included a mission briefing by United States Navy Rear Admiral James A. Kirk, which outlined the Centre’s roles, missions and current Programme of Work within NATO’s collective training framework. In addition to exercises, JWC's warfare capacity, its contributions to the lessons learned process and other transformational elements were also outlined during the briefing. In the afternoon, Mr Füllemann presented a comprehensive briefing on the ICRC's varied activities and how they were implemented.
Mr Füllemann also had the opportunity to observe the Main Events List/Main Incidents List (MEL/MIL) Scripting Workshop currently being conducted for exercise TRIDENT JUNCTURE 2018 at the Joint Warfare Centre's state-of-the-art training facility.
TRIDENT JUNCTURE 18 is a two-part exercise, comprised of a major Live Exercise (LIVEX) and a separate Computer-Assisted Command Post Exercise (CAX/CPX) that aims to train command and control procedures of NATO Response Force 2019 (NRF19), led by Allied Joint Force Command Naples (JFC Naples).
The CAX/CPX portion of TRIDENT JUNCTURE 2018 will be directed by Major General Andrzej Reudowicz, who is designated as the ODE, or, Officer Directing the Exercise.
The ICRC has supported the JWC-directed exercises for many years now. During their meeting, Major General Reudowicz highlighted the value of cooperation that exits between NATO and the ICRC, which has gained momentum since the signing of an updated Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between ICRC and NATO, represented by Allied Command Operations and Allied Command Transformation, in June 2012.
Walter A. Füllemann with Major General Andrzej Reudowicz during a visit to the Centre on 4 July 2018. Photo: JWC PAO
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