The big exercise at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, has proved its worth for MNC NE. Prior to the launch of the exercise, the MNC NE contingent had prepared internal procedures and workspaces, and met their respective direct US counterparts among the Primary Training Audience.
The 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg had established their full field command post nearby, linked to the Joint Warfighting Center’s internal computer network. The counterpart meetings were very good experiences of high professionalism and a positive and flexible approach to our requests for reporting, timings etc. Also, an initial general briefing - on who we were and why we were there - was very well received by the 82nd’s command group.
Exercise Unified Endeavor 07-1 started up slowly with the new ISAF Regional Command East – in the shape of 82nd Airborne Division – for the first time finding their way through the NATO – and ISAF reporting procedures, formats, and timelines, and the MNC NE personnel learning a supplement of additional abbreviations and implied internal US procedures. During the first day, personnel also learned dayshift- and nightshift procedures, and corresponding hand-over briefings were rehearsed. Even with the comparably much smaller ‘MNC NE Fort Bragg’ set-up, located in one building, the backbone knowledge from all previous exercises proved its worth. Liaison officers from US are attached directly to the MNC NE = ISAF Headquarters and we have support from so-called Subject Matter Experts, coming directly from the current ISAF HQ. Thereby we are meeting both some of the colleagues that we are to replace in Kabul by February next year, and some of those that will be in our Eastern Regional subordinated unit by then. The value of being able to connect a face to some future phone calls or mails is an important part of our internal exercise goals.
Also, the MNC NE participants have learned their way through Shopping Centres, Dining Facilities, alternative fast food restaurants, and the necessary transportation arrangements between those, and to and from the well equipped single room accommodation. The rented vans consume some gallons of fuel during a normal exercise shift day, as we are not just talking about a walk between buildings No. 1 and No. 3 at Baltic Barracks.
