It was already the 37th time when the representatives of three Framework Nations of Multinational Corps Northeast (MNC NE), i.e. Denmark, Germany and Poland, met during the Corps Committee Meeting, which was held in Szczecin on 23 and 24 November 2009. Additionally, members of the Participating States took part in the Plenary Session.
Danish Colonel Lars Møller, assisted by Captain Michael Aakjæfor, chaired the Corps Committee for the last time. Now it will be Poland’s turn to lead the meetings for the whole next year. This time, on behalf of the Polish Land Forces Command, Colonel Jarosław Kraszewski acted as co-chairman. His secretary was Lieutenant Colonel Zenon Szczybyło. The German side represented Colonel Thomas with his secretary Lieutenant Colonel Ingo Reershemius.
Since this session of the Corps Committee was combined with the plenary, also representatives of the Participating States were present. Apart from Senior National Representatives serving at the Headquarters on a permanent basis, there were also guests from the Czech General Staff, the Slovak Ministry of Defence and the US Office of Defense Cooperation.
There were a lot of summaries during this Corps Committee Meeting and the Plenary in order to inform the Framework Nations and Participating States about the current status in many areas of the Corps’ activity. First of all, Commander of the Multinational Corps Northeast Lieutenant General Zdzisław Goral addressed all the gathered and summarized his three-year tour of duty, which is just about to end. Among other things, he was talking about the mission in Afghanistan, main exercises conducted during that time, the implementation of the Command, Control and Information System SZAFRAN as well as the growing multinational family. During his tour of duty, Romania and Slovenia joined the Corps and talks about the affiliation of troops with several units were initiated. The Commander also highlighted the celebrations of the 10th Anniversary of Multinational Corps Northeast as well as the new multifunctional facility built in Baltic Barracks.
Among the topics the Corps Committee members were also very interested in, was the status of the preparations for the mission in Afghanistan, which is going to start in February 2010. The implementation of the Command, Control and Information System SZAFRAN, the status of the Corps’ budget were also on the agenda.
The manning issue and the Headquarters structure review were thoroughly discussed, too. Moreover, the Corps Committee members talked about the possible affiliation of units to the Corps. For example, the Slovenian Chemical, Biological Radiological and Nuclear Battalion will acquire a full operational capability status by the end of this year and will be ready to start the affiliation process. However, to make it possible, some Corps’ founding documents must be revised by that time. Some other units are also proceeding with the discussions about the affiliation.
Apart from that, the Corps Committee got acquainted with preparations for the change of command ceremony, which is going to take place in the middle of December. They also learned about the structure and functions of the Garrison Headquarters, which will run the current Corps’ business while the majority of the Headquarters personnel will be serving in Afghanistan.
Even though there are still some open issues, which have not been solved yet, the Corps Committee members are looking forward to the Corps’ future with optimism. They will meet next time in February, this time under the chairmanship of a Pole.
Comments