The thirteenth Iraqi Key Leader Training (IKLT 13) was held at the Joint Warfare Centre’s Ulsnes Training Facility from 15-27 October 2010. Twelve Iraqi key leaders coming from the Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Interior, attended IKLT 13. The training aims to help Iraq create effective armed forces and, ultimately, provide for its own security.
The course focused on the management of operational-level headquarters and included instruction on crisis management, command and control of forces, operational/organizational leadership, the operational planning process, security infrastructure, operational C-IED, Counterinsurgency Fundamentals, Strategic Communications and integration of all aspects of civil-military cooperation, including liaison with the UN, Red Cross, and other international organizations.
The aim of the training is to familiarize Iraqi officials with current operational/organizational leadership principles and relevant security issues and concepts in order to help Iraq build the capability of its Government to address the security needs of the Iraqi people. IKLT is part of the training mission of NATO, which was established at the 2004 Istanbul Summit.
During his welcome speech, German Army Lieutenant General Wolfgang Korte, Commander Joint Warfare Centre, pointed out that the JWC-led Iraqi Key Leader Training had grown tremendously since the first out-of-country training event that took place in 2004 at Ulsnes. “The purpose of the training as a whole is to promote understanding of NATO and its command and control arrangements, to promote a better understanding of operational leadership in military as well as non-military security areas, to discuss staff procedures and inter-agency communications, to exchange views on topics of mutual interest and to get acquainted with each other’s thinking,” Lieutenant General Korte said.
Since its first iteration in 2004, the Joint Warfare Centre has provided bi-annual Iraqi Key Leader Training at Ulsnes that is extremely relevant to the challenges Iraqi key security leaders face in rebuilding their country.