STAVANGER, Norway - General James B. Hecker, the new Commander of NATO's Allied Air Command (AIRCOM), visited the Joint Warfare Centre (JWC) on August 25, to meet with Major General Piotr Malinowski, Commander JWC, and to learn more about the Centre's mission, programme of work and organization.
Following an office call with the Commander and the Centre's leadership, General Hecker received a detailed mission briefing on the JWC's current and upcoming activities, focusing on the JWC-directed STEADFAST JUPITER series of exercises, the Centre's organic modelling and simulation capabilities, observations of operational-level air command and control (C2) in joint exercises, and wargaming design.
During his visit, General Hecker was also given a tour of the JWC facilities, including the in-rock training facility, the exercise situation centre and the live TV studio.
General James B. Hecker, Commander Allied Air Command, and Major General Piotr Malinowski, Commander JWC
General Hecker assumed command of NATO's AIRCOM on June 27, 2022. As Commander AIRCOM, General Hecker is leading the around-the-clock delivery of Air and Space Power for the Alliance, including the command and control of NATO's integrated air and missile defence. General Hecker also commands both U.S. Air Forces in Europe and U.S. Air Forces in Africa and serves as the Director of the Joint Air Power Competence Centre (JAPCC) in Germany.
"We train like we fight and the JWC directly contributes to overall NATO readiness – from critical fifth-generation aircraft integration, space and cyber coordination, to looking over the horizon at future threats. AIRCOM and JWC cooperation in exercises make us better prepared across all warfighting domains and ready to fight on Day One in defence of the Alliance."
General James B. Hecker, Commander AIRCOM
About his visit to the JWC, General Hecker said: "The Joint Warfare Centre's exercises have never been as vital and relevant in the face of current security challenges."
"We train like we fight and the JWC directly contributes to overall NATO readiness – from critical fifth-generation aircraft integration, space and cyber coordination, to looking over the horizon at future threats. AIRCOM and JWC cooperation in exercises make us better prepared across all warfighting domains and ready to fight on Day One in defence of the Alliance."
The JWC provides NATO's training focal point for full spectrum joint operational- and strategic-level warfare. As one of NATO's key warfare development centres, the JWC is the hub between NATO's two Strategic Commands, Allied Command Transformation (ACT) and Allied Command Operations (ACO), focusing on what the Alliance needs as a fighting force while simultaneously developing new concepts, supporting doctrine development, and collecting and implementing lessons learned.
Pictures from the visit
