News 2011

First Deputy Minister of Defence of the Czech Republic Visit

The Czech delegation led by First Deputy Minister of Defence of the Czech Republic Mr. Jiří Šedivý together with First Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces BG Miroslav Žižka, Branch Forces Development and Operational Division Director BG Bohuslav Dvořák and Director of the Defence Planning and Strategic Devision Mr. Ivan Dvořák and other distinguished guests visited the JCBRN Defence COE on Tuesday 8 February 2010.

The delegation was welcomed by the JCBRN Defence COE Director COL Zdeněk Čížek, who briefed the delegation on the COE mission, current manning, structure and ongoing process ensuring the NATO transformation process. The JCBRN Defence COE presented their main activities in CBRN defence.

During the visit the Czech delegation met the Transformation Network Branch Chief Colonel Helmar Storm (ACT), who was executing the Periodic Assessment Visit at the Centre. They discussed the necessity of the establishment of the Reach-back and Fusion Centre in NATO and future possibility of the establishment such an element within the Centre. This topic is discussed among Allies and the JCBRN Defence COE is expecting the development of the debate during the April Steering Committee meeting, which will be held in April this year in Vyskov.

Author: CPT Ilona Bain

The Final MSG-049 Meeting

The final meeting of the MSG-049 on “M&S System for Emergency Response Planning and Training” was held from 1st February to 4th February 2011 at the JCBRN Defence COE. The main aim of the meeting was to finalize documents “Study Report Vol.1 and Vol.2”. An initial draft for final presentation of MSG-049 was prepared for RTO/NMSG.

The Euro-Atlantic Disaster Responses Co-ordination Centre (EADRCC) has special rules with regard to prevention inside NATO and EADRCC conducts LIVEX exercises annually. However, in 2003, the NATO RTO Modeling and Simulation Group (NMSG) recognized that M&S technology for the emergency exercises (e.g., earthquakes, floods, forest fires, chemical accidents, nuclear accidents and the transport of dangerous goods.) involving multiple nations and services, is not yet well developed. Further, it was recognized that Interoperability between agencies and Crisis Management Staff is also limited.

COE at the Challenge Subgroup Meeting

Our COE has continued to support the development of new NATO CBRN capabilities with the participation of COE member LTC Martin Peša at the Challenge Sub-group meeting. Representatives from eight NATO countries and JCBRN Defence COE met in Paris, 25 – 27 January 2011, led by Norwegian chairman Dr. Bjørn Arne Johnsen. The meeting was inaugurated by Brigadier General J. F. Parlanti, who appreciated the role of the Challenge Subgroup in new capabilities development.

„WMD Forensics Conference ”

The JCBRN Defence COE supported an international „WMD FORENSICS CONFERENCE”. The Conference was organized under the umbrella of Mr. Guy B. Roberts, Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Weapons of Mass Destruction Policy, NATO HQ, Brussels. The event was held in the Hotel Diplomat in Prague, Czech Republic from 2 to 4 February 2011.

The main objectives of the conference were:

- to gain knowledge about the current state of technology,

- to understand national capabilities of Allies, partners and international organizations,

- to discuss what NATO could contribute in this area,

- to bring together technology experts and policy makers to discuss how "forensics" can serve as a useful deterrent and non-proliferation tool.