Stavanger: On 10 August 2004 the Allied Command Transformation (ACT) Training Team gathered at Stavanger to undertake pre-deployment training for NATO's Training Implementation Mission in Iraq.

Under the leadership of Major General James Short, Chief of Staff Joint Warfare Centre (JWC), representatives from JWC, the NATO School Oberammergau and US Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM), with interpreters provided by Romania and Bulgaria, will combine in Naples with personnel from Allied Command for Operations (ACO) and arrive in Iraq over the weekend. Fulfilling ACT's remit to deliver tailored training and education where and when needed, the Team will conduct a Training Needs Assessment with the Iraq Interim Government to determine what training is required; mentor staff in the Iraqi Joint Headquarters to meet immediate training requirements; and provide academic training packages to selected personnel. Based on the TNA, decisions are expected in early September on the more detailed conduct of training in the short, medium and long term.