It was all about information – a group of 45 people visited the Multinational Corps Northeast on 27th May 2008 to see how a multinational Corps in Szczecin really works.
The visit was initiated by the Karl Theodor Molinari Foundation. It is an educational foundation for Deutsche Bundeswehr Verband, an association or a union gathering approximately 210 000 people. Its aim is to represent interests of soldiers. For those people who were of military background, the visit to the Headquarters was a bit more than a sightseeing tour. The briefing delivered by Chief Visitors and Observer Bureau LtCol. Detlef Schalchel introduced the idea of the Corps and presented its multinational character, structure and tasks. Christian Singer, a head of the delegation noticed that it was very interesting to see that so many countries participate in the Corps and that others are interested in joining the Corps, too. Moreover, his personal impression was that the Corps itself more resembles a little family than a typical huge military unit.
As a head of the Foundation, he also explained that the Karl Theodor Molinari Foundation is concerned with disseminating information among politicians concerning soldiers’ needs and ways of thinking. Moreover, various seminars are organised to expand knowledge about security issues among the members of the union. Part of the union’s activities is organising trips to different countries, the example of which is the visit to Poland and Szczecin.
In fact, Szczecin was one of the stages in their journey throughout Poland, which was given the motto “Our neighbour – Poland”. On their way there will be also Gdańsk, Warszawa, Poznań and other places of historical and political importance. Such trips definitely provide opportunities to get more than first general impressions. They also prove that the person one meets is the most important, not necessarily the country he or she comes from, said Christian Singer.
