UK Royal Navy Vice Admiral Tony Johnstone-Burt OBE MA, Chief of Staff Headquarters Supreme Allied Command Transformation (HQ SACT), visited the Joint Warfare Centre (JWC) on Thursday 22 November.
He was greeted by French Army Major General Jean-Fred Berger, Commander JWC. His visit programme included an office call with the Commander, a mission briefing on the JWC’s ambitious Programme of Work, its future requirements as NATO’s premier operational-level training provider, as well as the JWC Vision for 2014 and beyond.
On the afternoon of his visit, following the guided walking tour of the JWC’s state-of-the-art training facility, Vice Admiral Johnstone-Burt delivered a keynote address to the JWC staff. He said: “The JWC is truly the transformational hub of ACT. You are forward-thinking, innovative, product-oriented and action-focused. These are the skills that are fundamental to the process of NATO’s transformation.”
Other essential skills highlighted by the Vice Admiral in order to bring transformational ideas to fruition and achieve success include good communication skills, strategic thinking, sharpened leadership skills, and open-mindedness with an ability to cast a vision and thinking outside the box, enthusiasm, and creativity. “These all add up to what I call the transformational mind-set. Thinking differently is fundamental for the future of NATO,” Vice Admiral Johnstone-Burt said.
Referring to ACT’s mission, he challenged staff to think differently all the time, stressing that the transformation of NATO and Nations’ forces, processes, and organizations involves a change of mind-sets and attitudes. This continuous and proactive process, he added, is at the core of ACT’s mission, and is based on three pillars: Training; Capability Development; and (Military) Strategic Thinking. Vice Admiral Johnstone-Burt reminded the audience that the JWC is involved in all these pillars and remains at the forefront of ACT’s efforts to demystify NATO’s military transformation against new security threats and challenges in the decades ahead.
Vice Admiral Johnstone-Burt then talked about the way ahead for ACT following this year’s transfer of responsibility for NATO training from ACO to ACT, the future training concept for NATO with focus on the Connected Forces Initiative and the increasing interoperability and transparency across the Alliance. He also stressed the importance of Smart Defence and NATO Defence Planning Process as essential drivers of transformation, with focus on development of new capabilities and concepts, as well as other unanticipated requirements to meet the needs and ambitions of the Alliance in the 21st Century.
Vice Admiral Johnstone-Burt was appointed Chief of Staff HQ SACT in November 2011.