Multinational Corps Northeast

After introductory preparations, a hundred servicemen from the Multinational Corps Northeast (MNC NE) and other exercise participants attending the Mission Rehearsal Training at the Joint Warfare Centre in Stavanger, trained mission drills during so-called Battle Staff Training.

As soon as all servicemen got acquainted with the most updated information about the situation in Afghanistan (Mission Specific Training), learned about new tasks and responsibilities as well as worked within branches and cells and across them (Functional Area Training), the training team speeded up the tempo and initiated a series of so-called injections requiring quick reactions of the training audience.

The main idea of the Battle Staff Training conducted on 4th and 5th December was to ensure a smooth shift from more academic-like lectures, self-study and discussions to Mission Rehearsal Exercise, starting Sunday morning. The training audience was exposed to situations, the solving of which required active cooperation of different cells and branches. This helped the training audience orientate how the theory works in practice. "It was like a warm-up prior to the main exercise", explained Major Marcin Walczak, Polish Army, who is preparing for the position of a media operations officer at the Combined Joint Operations Centre (CJOC) in Kabul. "During the first day of Battle Staff Training we learned how the things function at CJOC and established working relations with servicemen we often saw for the first time. During the second day we trained working as a team. Effective exchange of information is the key issue", he stated. Major Aleksandras Petrulis from the Lithuanian Army who is going to be a counter improvised explosive device (C-IED) operations analyst in ISAF also emphasized the importance of team building process. "It is very good because there are people from different branches we will cooperate with in the theatre so we are building a small network with them". He also found the Battle Staff Training very useful: "It brought us closer to the reality we would encounter in the theatre in Afghanistan. The Mission Specific Training seemed to be more relaxed, now it got more intensive as we received tasks to analyze them. But it made me excited, too, because I like what I am doing even though it is not an easy job".

From the early Sunday morning, the Mission Rehearsal Exercise starts which will keep all exercise participants busy for the next few days. A realistic scenario and a high operational tempo will ensure best training possible.

For more information about the overall Mission Rehearsal Training, please also refer to the article "MNC NE in the Vikings’ land".