Nato Strategic Direction South A New Strategic Reality
What could Allied Land Command bring to the table in order to enhance NA- TO ’ s contribution in solving this challenge ? NATO LANDCOM is based in Izmir , Turkey and , as such , sits on the “ fulcrum ” between NSD-E and NSD-S . LANDCOM provides military advice to SACEUR and all the way up to the political decision making forums , focusing on the land domain of this issue . Also , it has a part in the military cooperation . The support provided in planning , conducting and evaluating exercises with partners across the south is a big “ slice of the pie ” where LANDCOM could bring its expertise – for instance to the NATO Regional Exercise 2017 ( REGEX 2017 ), the first NATO exercise to be held in a Mediterranean Dialogue country , hosted by Jordan . Also , LANDCOM can deploy some experts as part of mobile training and mentoring teams in support of the partners countries in the South . These are just few examples of what the LANDCOM ’ s contribution to this issue is and some directions in which it could evolve .
United States 82 nd Division Staff Training Iraqi Forces
training . NATO is providing Iraqi forces with military medicine and medical assistance , while military advisors are assisting with security sector reform . There are CI- MIC and MILCOOP teams conducting civil military planning support to operations , civil emergency planning and civil procedures , while NATO is also helping to develop Iraq ’ s cyber defence capabilities .
At the same time , NATO is also providing assistance to Jordan , where the DCB package consists of information protection , cyber defence , military exercises , C-IED , C3 ( communications , command and control ), harbour protection and defence related border security .
NATO provided advice in establishing an Intelligence “ Fusion Centre ” and also support to special operations forces to Tunisia . The Alliance is also developing its institutional links with the Gulf Cooperation Council , the Arab League and the African Union .
All in all , the first line of the Alliance ’ s defence rests with settled and secure neighbours . It is as simple as that . Is NATO doing everything it takes to meet this challenge ? At the moment the Alliance is providing only a military solution to a political problem which comes with its challenges . The Alliance needs to adapt in order to be able to project stability in its immediate neighbourhood . Furthermore , NATO has a history in doing just that , from operations in Afghanistan or in the Balkans , to training missions and capacity building . And remember “ when the chips are down , NATO ’ s allies have always come together to meet every new challenge 9 ”.
1
NATO Parliamentary Assembly , Sub-committee on future security and defence capabilities , Mission Report , 267 DSCFC 15 E , Cagliari , Naples and Rome , Italy , 28-30 October 2015 , page 4 .
2
Warsaw Summit Communique , 09 July 2016 , article 42 .
3
Idem . 1 .
4
NATO in Transatlantic Security Policy , Keynote Address by NATO Deputy Secretary General Ambassador Alexander Vershbow at 3rd Annual Helsinki Summer Session , Finish Institute of International Affairs , Helsinki , September 1st , 2016 .
2016 .
5
Press point by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg following informal EU Defence Ministers meeting , Bratislava , September 27th ,
6
Idem 4 .
7
Nato . int / cps / en / natohq / topics _ 132756 . html .
8
Activities include providing strategic advice on defence and security sector reform and institution building , the development of local forces through education and training , advice and assistance in specialized areas such as logistics and cyber-defence .
9
“ NATO post-Warsaw : Strengthening Security in a Tough Neighbourhood ”, speech by NATO Deputy Secretary General Ambassador Alexander Vershbow at the Annual Meeting of Romanian Ambassadors in Bucharest , August 29th , 2016 .
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