On 31 January and 1 February the CIMIC (Civil Military Co-operation) Seminar I was held in Baltic Barracks, Szczecin. HQ MNC NE invited CIMIC officers from other NATO Corps HQs and also from the affiliated divisions.
18 staff officers from 11 nations were discussing lessons learned from recent deployments to NATO operations such as SFOR, KFOR, ISAF as well as the mission in Iraq. The Deputy Commander of MNC NE, MajGen J.B. Andersen attended the second day of the seminar.
The briefers stressed the importance of good relationships and professional co-operation between all relevant actors in a Crisis Response Operation. The establishment of a Provincial Reconstruction Team Steering Committee in Afghanistan, which brings together representatives from ISAF, the Afghan government, international organizations and NGOs, represents a good example of the latest developments in this area.
As for a preparation for the exercise CRYSTAL EAGLE 2006 the audience discussed the possibilities of integrating a CIMIC play into a computer-aided exercise (CAX). CE 06 will help the staff of HQ MNC NE to further concentrate on typical missions within Crisis Response Operations. None of the participants had so far experienced a CAX that could support a realistic CIMIC play. Therefore the support from role-players is deemed very important to guarantee a realistic play.
Finally and with a view to the upcoming deployment of HQ MNC NE to Afghanistan in 2007 thoughts on how to prepare for such a mission were exchanged between the participants of the conference.
