The greatest success organisers of conferences may experience is when attendees get fully involved in vivid discussions. CIMIC Seminar, which took place from 2 to 5 March 2009 in Baltic Barracks, turned out to be such a success indeed.
Three-day conference with three purposes
Aims of this year’s CIMIC Seminar were rather compound. "The main aim was to start the preparation process for CIMIC personnel for the next ISAF deployment. The second one was to meet representatives from other institutions, not only from other corps, but also operational commands from Denmark, Germany and Poland and other CIMIC units to exchange our experiences, knowledge and to talk over some issues related to ISAF. The third aim referred to establishing and maintaining working relations with CIMIC personnel and simply expanding a circle of acquaintances", explained Lieutenant Colonel Waldemar Torbicki, Chief of CIMIC Branch of HQ MNC NE.
As a matter of fact, during this three-day conference personnel CIMIC Branch of HQ MNC NE, participants from the outside and guest speakers from the HQ and civilian organisations discussed topics within three areas of interest – first of all, CIMIC activities in ISAF including current tasks and challenges, procedures as well as changes in the structure of the ISAF Headquarters. Secondly, CIMIC-military relations were thoroughly talked over, and finally, some current issues were elaborated on, such as the update of the CIMIC doctrine. As a previous member of CIMIC Branch of HQ MNC NE and currently Chief CIMIC at the Joint Support Command in Cologne, Colonel Dieter Bohnert said "I have got very positive impressions about this conference because it touches on key issues". 
To be updated on ISAF
Since this conference was in fact the initial step of mission preparation process for CIMIC personnel, several topics raised referred to ISAF. Interestingly enough is to add that one of the briefers, a Dutch officer serving at the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps – Turkey, came back from Afghanistan just a few weeks before and delivered the most updated report on the situation in the mission area. At the moment some important changes in the structure of ISAF Headquarters are being implemented. “CIMIC will no longer act as a separate division CJ9, but it will be incorporated together with, for example, Advisers for Reconstruction or lawyers into the Stability Division, a completely new element”, explained Lieutenant Colonel Torbicki. As a result, CIMIC activities will reach a higher level in the chain of command and this may enhance the effectiveness of cooperation with the Government of Afghanistan. Since the analysts’ section will be strengthened, it may also contribute to better civil-military cooperation based on more complete analyses on the situation in the civil environment and efficient information flow. On the other hand, a liaison team CJ9 used to work with on a daily basis was moved to another section.
Modifications in the structure reflex the attempts to adjust to changes and the complexity of tasks CIMIC has to deal with. The nature of civil-military relations was explained by Colonel Bohnert who indicated that even though everybody is talking about the so-called comprehensive approach, there is actually no clear definition for it leaving place for people’s interpretations. "We need to cooperate with civilian organisations but what does it mean in reality? How do we make it work? How do we address other organisations? We need to understand there are areas where we can closely cooperate and areas where we simply cannot work together for whatever reason", said Colonel Bohnert. In the context of the preparations for the next ISAF mission, the key issue is to develop the understanding of what is possible and combine the efforts. It is especially important if to take into account that Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) have about 10% of what is spent in Afghanistan to reconstruct and develop this country whereas the rest is in the hands of the international, civilian community.
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