The Allied Land Command For the Soldier !
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Assurance to Deterrence ”, “ We are in the Article 5 Business ”, ‘ Year of Execution ” these are just a few of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO ) Themes that I have encountered since arriving in Allied Land Command Headquarters ( LAND- COM ), Izmir Turkey , all of which have had Allied Command Operational Headquarters ( ACO ) and partners working overtime in their respective areas of responsibility over the past year . Upon drafting this article I will have approximately 7 months in the chair , and instead of picking one focus area to talk about , I thought I would concentrate on describing some of LANDCOM ’ s past accomplishments and future initiatives , and how they relate to the SACEUR ’ s enduring principles . This article will provide a brief insight into LANDCOM ’ s past actions and future initiatives .
Acting as the connective tissue in the land domain , LAND- COM has been focused in ensuring a postured and ready force by ; supporting the Enhance Forward Presence ( eFP ) command and control relationships structure , solidifying Graduated Response Plans ( GRP ’ s ), and participating in exercise planning and evaluation .
In terms of eFP , LANDCOM has been focused on “ uniting the clans ” so to speak , by conducting the first ever eFP Rehearsal of Concept Drill ( eFP ROC Drill ), by providing an open venue for hosting and contributing nations to discuss a calibrated defence strategy , based on capabilities and requirements . A few of the topics to be addressed during the event , and on the side lines , are how do we integrate the nations in a common operating picture , co-ordinating digital fires , and communications ? How will we experiment to identify gaps and lessons learned ? If done properly , over time we will improve the capabilities and effectiveness of the eFP Battle Groups , thus ensuring a postured ready force by improving readiness and deterrence credibility .
Chief Warrant Officer Stephen A . Rice Commander Senior Enlisted Leader
Upon completion of the eFP RoC Drill and the Land Commanders Component Conference , the next big exercise will be TRI- DENT JAVELIN 17 ( TRJN ’ 17 ). This is another first for LANDCOM and the NATO Command Structure ( NCS ) as this exercise will focus on Major Joint Operation “ Plus ” ( MJO +) concept in a NATO Article 5 environment . LANDCOM will look to use exercise SABER GUARDIAN 17 as a warmup to TRJN17 by providing a small element to participate as HICON over MND- SE in exercise DACIAN GUARDIAN 17 .
In terms of Alliance strengthening LANDCOM has Combat Readiness Evaluation Teams ( Creval Tms ) – teams , which until recently , was primarily comprised of officers with limited or no NCO involvement . Understanding this problem is limited to job descriptions , value added , TDY budgets and availability of NCO ’ s , however this is something I feel we can improve upon as we move forward . In terms of LOGFAS programs and especially communications , NCO ’ s could easily provide observer controller training recommendations .
Speaking at the Command Senior Enlisted Leader ( CSEL ) Course in Oberammergau , at the NATO School ( NSO ) was something I truly found rewarding , as is anytime I have the opportunity to talk leadership and promote the Command Team concept . I will be focused on supporting future courses , specifically , the Advanced Leadership course in late May , which leads into the International Senior Enlisted Leader Conference .
Additionally , we will be participating in an upcoming CSEL working group to review NATO Non-Commissioned Officer ( NCO ) Bi-Strategic Command Strategy and Recommended Guidelines . This strategy will enhance NATO operational effectiveness and interoperability , as will the NCO Conference of European Armies .
Finally , Re-establishing the NCO communication council within LANDCOM was a priority and has provided us with the capability to quickly address any NCO concerns within the Headquarters . That coupled with the NCO Professional Development program is just one of the initiatives to promote cohesiveness within the LAND- COM NCO community .
The tasks and initiatives describe above are by no means a complete , or exact , list of all activities since the last LAND POWER magazine , but rather a brief explanation of some key accomplishments . As we set the stage for eFP , future deployments , and prepare for the annual summer rotation of staff , we must be responsive to the quick transition . The road to exercise TRIDENT JAVELIN 17 will be not only bumpy , but short , and I look forward to the challenge !
For the Soldier !