MAGAZINE
FALL 2020
from the
COMMANDER
“ The strength of a nation is not only measured by the size of its economy or the number of its soldiers , but also by the number of its friends .”
-NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg , April 3 , 2019 in a speech to the U . S . Congress
In early August I had the distinct honour of taking command of LANDCOM . That day I told the SACEUR , General Tod D . Wolters , that he has my total commitment to continued enablement of warfighting readiness , land power expertise , and teamwork to provide vigilant and ready land forces for deterrence and defence of the Alliance . We remain ready to take the lead in Multi-Corps ground combat operations , providing mission command and land domain advice for SACEUR and the Joint Forces Commands . Our mission is critical for NATO Land Forces Readiness .
The first major tests of our mission , under COVID constraints , are the two Combat Readiness Evaluations ( CREVAL ) scheduled for Allied Rapid Reaction Corps ( ARRC ) and NATO Rapid Deployable Corps Turkey ( NRDC-TUR ) for their respective roles in the NATO Response Force ( NRF ) 2021 . In June , LANDCOM staff leveraged available technology to connect “ virtually ” with ARRC to administer Phase III , the Corps Planning Process ( CPP ), as they work to be the first warfighting Corps held at extended readiness since the Cold War . By all accounts it was a success , and I am absolutely confident ARRC will be ready for their final CREVAL certification in November during Exercise LOYAL LEDA 20 . The same goes for NRDC-TUR as they prepare for their role as part of the NRF . NRDC-TUR just completed their Crisis Response Planning ( CRP ) phase this September in preparation for the final certification exercise during Exercise Steadfast Jupiter-Jackal 20 in December .
You ’ ll notice in this edition of Land Power a focus on NATO Partners , Ukraine and Georgia . In early September , we traveled to Tbilisi for our second round of staff talks with Georgia ’ s Ministry of Defence Land Forces leadership . This event strengthened the already strong partnership we began forming back in Spring , 2019 , a partnership that becomes even more relevant as NATO begins to focus more intensely on the Black Sea region . We also are pleased to feature a section on Ukraine , a nation of strategic importance to NATO and the Alliance ’ s newest Enhanced Opportunities Partner . These articles come directly from Ukraine ’ s Ministry of Defence , and feature significant changes in their force structure ; the importance of Rapid Trident as
Ukraine ’ s annual flagship , multilateral exercise alongside NATO nations ; and a historical account of the long-running information war Russia has waged on Ukraine since the 1990s .
In the past six months we ’ ve seen changes in leadership at Multinational Division Southeast ( MND-SE ) with Brigadier General Cristian Dan replacing Major General Iulian Berdila . Additionally , NATO Rapid Deployable Corps Greece ( NRCD-GR ) welcomed Lieutenant General Dimitrios Koukkos who replaced Lieutenant General Konstantinos Koutras . We offer a warm and heartfelt welcome to these new leaders , and a fond farewell for the outgoing commanders .
I am humbled and excited to join this outstanding command and be a part of the strongest and most successful Alliance in the world . At the heart of any nation ’ s military is the Land Forces . In NATO , our job is to enable the heartbeat of these forces for readiness , and this critical work is never done . With everything we do , we must always ensure that the 18-year-old soldier at the other end of our echelons has everything they need to fight , win , survive and return home safely . We owe them nothing less ! LC
# LandPower !# StrongerTogether !
# WeAreNATO ! # ForTheAlliance !
For the Soldier !
ROGER L . CLOUTIER JR .
LANDCOM Commander
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