Long way
from the
North
Atlantic
“I don’t think I’m the only Kiwi in
NATO,” Major Chris Shaw admits
to the imjin during his final
week serving with the ARRC in
Gloucester.
EASTERN PROMISE
Gloucester team brings NATO
operational expertise to Jordanians
A team of specialist instructors from
the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps has
visited Jordan to deliver high-level
training to officers from across the
Middle East.
The two-week ‘NATO Academics’
course, delivered at the Peace
Operations Training Centre near
Amman, provides lessons in
operational planning to staff officers
from the Jordanian, Egyptian, United
Arab Emirates, Kuwaiti and Cypriot
armed forces.
The training forms part of Exercise
‘Eager Lion’, the largest U.S. exercise
in the Middle East, and is designed
to assist the multi-national staff that
runs the exercise’s Combined Joint
Task Force (CJTF) headquarters.
The team of six Gloucester-based
instructors led the ‘Mobile Training
Team’ delivering the course, bolstered
by experts from NATO’s Joint Forces
Command in Naples.
Major Chris Shaw (pictured)
explained: “It’s a great opportunity
for the ARRC to maintain links, gain
awareness, and improve both the
Jordanians and the regional forces’
ability to plan at the operational l
evel, as well our own interoperability
with them.”
MISSION POSSIBLE
It is the fourth time that the ARRC has
been invited to run the Academics
package, which is based upon the
‘Comprehensive Operations Planning
Course’ delivered at the NATO School
in Oberammergau.
“We conduct a two-week operational
level planning exercise,” continued
Major Shaw. “Collaboratively, we
mentor them through the scenario
@HQARRC
Allied Rapid Reaction Corps
that they will later exercise with the
American forces in the region.”
The course also exposes the ARRC
team to the strategic landscape
currently facing the Jordanian and
Middle Eastern militaries.
“That’s one of the great opportunities
of this exercise – we get as much
training as they do, and as much
educational exposure.
“It’s not just that we go over as
instructors, we go as mentors too. And
we learn an incredible amount from
them, their background, their
experience, their perspective
on the world.”
ARABIAN KNIGHTS
“It’s certainly one of the capacity
building tasks that there’s a
lot of enthusiasm to attend,”
concludes Shaw.
“There’s a lot of work involved in
getting the course ready, but
it’s an amazing part of the
world and the Jordanian
are such great hosts.
They’re very proud
of their country,
and it’s great to
experience
it alongside
them and the
other Middle
Eastern
security
partners.”
“But as far as I’m aware, I’m
the only New Zealand officer
permanently under the NATO
chain of command.”
For the past two and half years,
the exchange officer’s distinctive
uniform and Kiwi patch have
become a familiar sight at
Imjin Barracks. But of course,
New Zealand isn’t a member
of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization.
“We’ve always looked at the British
Army as a good opportunity
for professional growth,” he
continues. “And ARRC is a great
place to gain experience at a level
of command that we would never
get to otherwise experience as a
small army in the southwestern
Pacific.
“I’ve been very fortunate to have
this insight.”
SO FAR SO GOOD
“Jordan was a great
experience, but the real
highlight has been working
at Gloucester.
“The ability to turn up
every day and work with
a German, a French, an
Italian, and a Turkish
officer within one
planning team,
and to call
them friends,
call them
colleagues.
To be able to
learn about
them, learn
about their
families, learn
from them and
hopefully add
value to our wider
team.
“It’s a wonderful,
really diverse, and
really collegial
environment.”
Kiwi polish – Major
Chris Shaw of the
New Zealand Army
the imjin SUMMER 2020
7