On 5 August, the NCI Agency General Manager, Mr Koen Gijsbers visited Allied Land Command Izmir (LANDCOM), and during the visit signed a joint partnership statement with LANDCOM Commander LGEN Frederick "Ben" Hodges. In the spirit of cooperation, LANDCOM and the NCI Agency jointly declared their continued commitment to a Strategic Partnership in support of the NATO First Solution for the NATO Force Structure (NFS) in the context of the NATO Response Force for NATO Forces 2020. The full text of the joint statement can be requested by Nations through the Demand Management Directorate.
The partnership with LANDCOM, under the Command of LGEN Hodges, has flourished in the last year as part of the mutual goal of supporting the NFS in its preparations for NATO Response Force (NRF) rotations.
LANDCOM forms the critical link between the NATO Command Structure and the Land Forces of the NFS, providing a framework for training, readiness, interoperability, and standardization, while the NCI Agency, as Implementation Authority, contributes to the Partnership through technical expertise, proven project and programme management skills, operational experience and the flexibility that comes with customer funding. Together LANDCOM and NCI Agency strive to further develop the concept of NATO First Solution, which was first conceived through a partnership between the NCI Agency and The First German Netherlands Corps and taken forward through a partnership with the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps in Italy.