U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), visited the Joint Warfare Centre (JWC) on Thursday, 19 June.
This is the first official visit to JWC made by a SACEUR since the Centre's activation ceremony on 23 October 2003, which was attended by General (Ret.) James Jones, then SACEUR. General Breedlove was welcomed by German Army Major General Erhard Buehler, Commander JWC and U.S. Air Force Brigadier General John W. Doucette, the Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff.
During the visit, SACEUR met with the JWC team and got an up-close look at its ambitious Programme of Work now and beyond 2015. He was briefed on the Centre's most recent activities as NATO's premier operational-level trainer, its key deliverables and evolving warfare capabilities in accordance with the SAGE (SACEUR's Annual Guidance on Education, Training, Exercises and Evaluation).
He then received in-depth information regarding JWC media simulation, replicating a different media environment tailored for each exercise including social media. Discussions included JWC's ongoing capability management efforts in order to align the Centre to the changing training requirements and new operational concepts.
Also highlighted during the visit were JWC's local/distributed CAX architecture and innovative technology applications such as virtualisation and Modelling and Simulation (M&S).The itinerary began with an office call with Major General Buehler, followed by the command briefing presented by Brigadier General Doucette.
It continued with a tour of the facilities where SACEUR was briefed on the following topics:
- JWC's multi-level complex joint training for the NATO Response Force (NRF) and its unique exercise design with a particular focus on scenario development and delivery (by British Army Colonel Stephen Williamson).
- Production of a Common Operational Picture (COP) in a scenario-driven simulation-supported exercise, including a presentation of theatre ballistic missile defence simulation capability designed by the JWC (by Mr. Ivan Vianello).
- The Opposing Forces (OPFOR) Cell and the new exercise MEL/MIL construct implemented for TRIDENT JAGUAR 14 (by British Air Force Sqn Ldr Colin Macpherson).
Interview with JWC's Three Swords News ChannelGeneral Breedlove then paid a visit to the TV Studio where he was interviewed by the Three Swords News Channel. He said: "JWC provides a unique opportunity to expose Commanders to NATO Article 5 challenges." Click HERE to watch this exclusive interview.