U . S . Army Lt . Col . Arnel David , an army strategist serving at ARRC , explores warfighting concepts with multinational troops during a senior leader academics seminar in Bucharest , Romania

Staff members from Headquarters Allied Rapid Reaction Corps continued to work with NATO ’ s newest Corps , Multinational Corps Southeast ( MNC-SE ) to develop defence and deterrence capability in the Black Sea region .

“ Our Romanian partners are thinking critically about how they intend to organise and operate as they build their new corps ”, said U . S . Army strategist LTC David , serving at the ARRC .

In a series of engagements between the ARRC and MNC-SE , a week-long academics program demonstrated how multiple nations in the Alliance can support each other and share thinking about how they intend to operate , compete , deter , and fight together . This forms part of persistent engagement efforts around NATO ’ s borders , which is a key line of effort for NATO and HQ ARRC .

The program was developed jointly by Romanian staff in Bucharest and staff from HQ ARRC . “ We really went all out as a team to bring in worldclass scholars , thought leaders , and military professionals for dynamic and engaging sessions ”, said LTC David . “ A number of lectures and interactive discussions drove a rich debate on the balance of art and science in war across all its dimensions ”.

NATO officers from the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps and Multinational Corps Southeast discuss corps planning factors and operating concepts during a senior leader academics seminar

Romanian Naval Forces Captain Liviu Strambeanu , the MNC-SE branch head for Business Information Management , said the event exceeded his expectations and provided an opportunity to interact and share thinking on important issues of benefit to both headquarters .

“ As our organisation develops , being a regional corps HQ , it has to look not only in the land domain , but has to look on all the other operational domains ”, Strambeanu said . “ I appreciate very much the level of interactivity and exchange of ideas . This supports our efforts to become a learning organisation , because being a learning organisation not only drives your development , but supports your aim to become an adaptable organisation ”.

NATO officers from the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps and Multinational Corps Southeast at a senior leader academics seminar led by the ARRC Plans Branch

U . S . Army Brigadier General Matthew Van Wagenen , the ARRC ’ s Deputy Chief of Staff for operations commended the initiative and said , “ this is one of the most intellectually stimulating academic weeks I ’ ve ever participated in . The real big success was the collaborative work done by multinational break-out groups , which included all ranks , to run through operational design methodology ”.

The ARRC will now continue to engage with MNC-SE over the course of 2021 , to assist them achieve full operating capability , prepare for participation in a number of exercises and become a hub of NATO activity in the Black Sea region .

Ambulance Shifts as part of Military Aid to Civilian Authorities

QMSI Hughes

WO2 ( QMSI ) Hughes RAPTC has been assisting the South-Central Ambulance Service ( SCAS ) under the MACA banner since the start of the pandemic whilst juggling his role as the Station QMSI and the British Army Shooting Team QM . This has seen the QMSI work alongside trauma doctors and paramedics to deliver hospital capability to the roadside . Not being content with the basic skills , he has gone on to complete high level medical courses to ensure he has the knowledge and skill to progress to full medical registration status in the near future .

Over the Christmas period which saw WO2 Hughes on call the whole time , he stated that on one particular Saturday morning across the SCAS area they received 1,000 calls in 2 hours from everything from paediatrics to cardiac arrests .

The QMSI highlights the following “ Soldiers have transferable skills that meet the criteria of all the uniformed authorities , we apply ourselves to the highest standards which makes the transition easy as we are a diverse organisation with discipline and effectiveness matched by no other organisation , which the emergency services strive for every day . Everyone has stated to me over the last few months that I have gone above and beyond but actually it ’ s impossible for a soldier to go above and beyond , we do every day what we are called to do and we always like to go one better , it ’ s just usually nobody knows or is watching .”