MAGAZINE
Lieutenant General Thomson LANDCOM Commander
SPRING 2020
“ I would go to war with you . You can be rightfully proud of your achievements during Trident Jupiter .”
Lieutenant General Kolodziej Eurocorps Commander
This is the first CREVAL to adopt elements of the new approach , and the fourth CREVAL LANDCOM has administered in 18 months . LANDCOM has two more scheduled next year , including evaluations of Allied Rapid Reaction Corps as a warfighting corps headquarters , and NATO Rapid Deployable Corps Turkey during their preparations to assume the NRF role for 2021 .
“ This Eurocorps CREVAL is the first to transition to the new approach , which aims to increase war fighting readiness by relying less on generic checklists and more on training objectives that prepare the formation on their upcoming role ,” said Spanish Army Brigadier General Alfonso Alba , LANDCOM Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans , during the out brief .
LANDCOM and Eurocorps agreed to primary training objectives used during the evaluation in January through commander to commander dialogue .
“ I would like to highlight the excellent cooperation and support we have received from Eurocorps throughout the process ,” said Brigadier General Alba . “ Your collaboration is much appreciated and has facilitated our job and will undoubtedly benefit the outcome .”
This intended outcome includes a Training Support Package Eurocorps can use to build and sustain readiness over the next year . Lieutenant General Thomson held up the binder containing this package while commending their forward thinking approach to the exercise .
“ Eurocorps attacked this exercise with a vengeance ,” said U . S . Army Lieutenant Colonel Joe Hansen , LANDCOM Joint Fires Evaluation Chief . “ It ’ s rare you come across such a great team that comes together and tackles everything in front of them ,” he said . “ As an evaluator , I was consistently impressed by the dedication , the determination of this outfit . NATO continues to demonstrate that there is nothing this Alliance can ’ t do .”
Lieutenant General Kolodziej expressed his appreciation for the new approach to combat readiness evaluations , citing that it gives back to the commanders the ability to shape the process . For him , emphasis on command and control was a priority .
“ It ’ s about solving pressure [ situations ] and building confidence ,” he said . “ The command and control operation is not an issue [ in ] which you tread lightly , because at the end of the day , our soldiers ’ lives are at stake .”
Both commanders agreed this CREVAL new approach was not the end of the readiness process .
“ This new approach is getting away from just pure science and checklists and [ incorporating ] something higher ,” said Thomson . “ I commend Eurocorps for recognizing a year ago that we need to up our game and train as we fight , and focus on the things that Corps do which are reflected in the training objectives .”
The CREVAL itself covered six war fighting functions : Command and Control , Movement and Maneuver , Sustainment , Joint Fires , Intelligence , and Force Protection . Each function had a LANDCOM evaluation chief tracking Eurocorps ’ progress in that specific area .
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It shows that combat readiness is not the status to achieve , and then you rest , it is a never ending process ,” Lieutenant General Kolodziej said . “ If you stop you ’ re done . If you stop , complacency comes back .”
He emphasized his soldiers are ready for the mission .
“ The Eurocorps is prepared to assume NATO Response Force Land Component Command 2020 on 1 January 2020 . We are combat ready ,” he said . LC