MAGAZINE
FALL 2020
CREVAL IN THE AGE OF COVID
By Major Ben Johnston , British Army , LANDCOM G7
June 2020 , HQ Allied Rapid Reaction Corps ( HQ ARRC )
IN conducted a Corps Planning Process ( CPP ) at HQ ARRC in Innsworth , United Kingdom . This CPP was in preparation for their participation in EXERCISE LOYAL LEDA 20 , where they will be exercised prior to certification as the first NATO Warfighting Corps . As part of their certification as a Warfighting Corps , HQ ARRC are undertaking a Combat Readiness Evaluation ( CREVAL ), and the CPP was the initial stage of this process . This was to be no ordinary evaluation however as due to the various travel and working restrictions imposed in response to the global COVID-19 virus pandemic , the decision was made to conduct the CREVAL remotely during CPP , with evaluators working from locations in LANDCOM in Izmir , Turkey and at NATO Rapidly Deployable Corps Spain ( NRDC-ESP ) in Valencia , Spain . In addition to the complexity of evaluating from distance was the fact that this was the first time that an evaluation had been conducted using the new evaluation approach , which was finalised with the publication of AFS Vol VII ( Jan 2020 ). This article describes the methods used to achieve a successful evaluation phase , and also provides some lessons identified with regards to the conduct of the new evaluation approach in addition to those presented from working remotely .
Remotely possible From a CREVAL perspective , the planning process conducted by a Corps HQ is an essential step in building the Operational Staff Work ( OSW ), which is routinely executed during the field evaluation ( Phase III ). This provides the main venue to evaluate an HQ ’ s G5 planning team , and is traditionally the first opportunity for interaction between the evaluators and the evaluated HQ ’ s staff . Evaluators will often develop an understanding of the efficiency of the HQ ’ s planning process from observing the various interactions amongst the HQ staff , as well as listening to the many briefings that will shape the Commander ’ s decision making process . As the evaluators would have to work remotely from their workstations in Turkey and Spain , a remote evaluation methodology was devised in close coordination with the ARRC G7 team based upon the interoperability tenets of human , technical and procedural solutions to enable the successful evaluation of HQ ARRC .
The challenges of COVID-19 restrictions presented opportunities to experiment with new work practices and accelerated modernisation in some departments . As many in LANDCOM and other NATO Force Structures ( NFS ) have adapted to a new working environment , the prevalence of technical solutions has become apparent and the use of Microsoft Lync video meetings has quickly become the norm . This was also to be the case with HQ ARRC , who conducted the Corps Planning Process in a distributed manner from across the HQ , using Lync meetings to conduct briefings and planning sessions to great effect . This provided an opportunity for the evaluators to dial in to a multitude of meetings from the relative comfort of their workstations , with the additional benefit of allowing the planners to conduct their business without the physical presence of the evaluators in the room to distract them .
Another benefit of working remotely was that a larger Evaluation Team ( ET ) presence was achieved throughout the planning process evaluation than had previously been possible . Whilst listening in to planning groups and briefings was useful , it was also necessary to have access to the various publications , SOPs / SOIs , and OSWs . A technical solution was found to ensure the publication of products and briefs on the EXERCISE LOYA LEDA 20 Web Portal . This allowed the ET to examine the products , which in turn supported the process . Whilst there were some initial troubles with ensuring that the ET were able to access the necessary meetings and documentation , a helpful and proactive approach of push dissemination from the ARRC G5 Chief and Yeoman of Signals ensured that the ET ’ s requirements were met throughout .
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