Multinational Corps Northeast

The FAT Eagle exercise was the most important training event organised by Headquarters Multinational Corps Northeast (HQ MNC NE) as a part of preparations for a final test at the Joint Warfare Centre in Norwegian Stavanger and the mission in Afghanistan itself. The exercise was held in Baltic Barracks from 2 to 6 November 2009.

It was all about gaining necessary knowledge of how the Headquarters International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and its subordinate ISAF Joint Command function and, acquiring a specific situational awareness. Another aim was also to build team relations, which might appear useful in the mission environment. Since the acronym FAT stands for functional area training, the exercise focused on training within different branches and, even more importantly, across them.

FAT Eagle was after individual training and individual functional area training the next step in the mission preparation process. Its intention was to integrate knowledge from different functional areas and share valuable knowledge and experiences. For that reason, the training audience was divided into ten syndicate groups consisting of approximately ten personnel, who represented different functional areas. Each syndicate received tasks, so called vignettes, which required active discussions in order to find solutions. Even though there was not a typical scenario, the operational situation in Afghanistan served as the operational background. Therefore, all vignettes referred to real events taking place in Afghanistan, such as countering Improvised Explosive Devices, supporting Poppy Extradition Forces or coordinating Joint Operations conducted by 2 or more Regional Commands.

A syndicate model of this exercise turned out to be very successful. “Everybody could learn about possibilities other functional areas have and make an analysis himself – from who, in what time and what kind of information I can get in order to solve my task”, explained Lieutenant Colonel Maciej Gałązka from G3 Division responsible e.g. for training cycle. Also Lieutenant Colonel Søren Host underlined the advantages of syndicate work: “This is a good way to easily get a lot of people involved in discussions, you can pop in with your knowledge or experience in a more informal way. I think this is a good benefit”. Syndicate way of solving tasks is not always the easiest one, though. “The biggest challenge is to gain knowledge in a very short time about an issue you might not know much about, so to drive the information out of your syndicate members, store it in your own mind and be able to present that information”, explained Lieutenant Colonel Host.

How successful cross-functional training and building team relations were would be shown during the final test for Headquarters personnel within the mission preparation process. At the Joint Warfare Centre in Stavanger, they will all take part in the exercise that will prove their skills and finally prepare them for the mission in Afghanistan.