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Eurocorps Magazine
Winter 2009-2010
BP 70082
F- 67020 Strasbourg
Tel: 00 33 (0)388 43 20 12
Fax: 00 33 (0)388 43 20 05
Internet: www.eurocorps.org
Publication Director:
Director
Colonel Kai-Uwe Stumpf
Chief Editor:
Editor
Commandant Hans Haegdorens
Layout:
Layout
Christine Authier-Debes
page 3
pages 12-15
pages 22-23
welcome word
common tenacity
“rls organization”
blue gabriel
one step towards the
future
pages 4-5
who is who
pages 16-17
page 6
common tenacity
key functional areas
change of command at
hq eurocorps
page 18
page 7
distinguished
visitors - media day
change of command
french - german
brigade
pages 8-9
further developments
of the nato response
force concept
page 10
common tenacity
objectives
page 11
common tenacity
“scenario - area of
operations”
Pictures:
Pictures
Joseph Patry, Vincent Bordignon,
Caroline Radaczynski, Philippe
Demeyer, Olivier Maucotel.
Printing:
Printing
Print House Belgian Defence
Copies:
Copies
2500
Distribution:
Distribution
HQ Eurocorps
© PAO Eurocorps
page 19
internet - exercise
news
pages 20-21
euretex
page 24
headquarters support
battalion coin
page 25
training in andermatt
pages 26-27
some visits / events
welcome word
t has been a pleasure and a
great
honour for me to be
appointed Commanding General of EUROCORPS by our
Framework Nations (Belgium,
France, Germany, Luxembourg
and Spain) and I am perfectly
aware of the challenges I will
have to master during the next
two years.
I
Born in 1992 as the result of an
idea of French President Mitterrand and German Chancellor
Kohl, Headquarters EUROCORPS
(HQ EC) has become an example
of a true multinational headquarters within both NATO and the EU
in the past 17 years. The professionalism of all our predecessors
has made this possible. EUROCORPS is meanwhile certified as
Rapid Reaction Corps and as LCC,
a force capable of fulfilling the full
range of missions it may be entrusted with.
On 26 February 2009 a milestone
in EUROCORPS history was
achieved when the Treaty of Strasbourg entered into force after having been ratified by the
parliaments of the Framework Nations (Belgium, France, Germany,
Luxembourg and Spain). This
treaty gives our Headquarters
legal capacity and makes EUROCORPS unique indeed. Moreover
it provides a well-suited frame for
the further development of a European Defence.
But EUROCORPS is more than
just a highly efficient Headquarters. It is an outstanding and exciting experience, gathering in
Strasbourg men and women with
different backgrounds who work
together in perfect synergy. In a
true spirit of multinational military
cooperation, the Staff composed
of 12 nations performs as a team.
This spirit is our main road to success!
During the next year EUROCORPS will undergo the NRF certification again. We are looking
forward to carrying out this very
important “NRF 15” mission that
we are already training for. All the
numerous exercises and training
activities will serve only one single
goal: the full commitment of EUROCORPS to NRF. This will forge
our cohesion and improve our
skills and procedures. Afterwards,
from July until December 2010,
we will be NATO’s answer to any
crisis occurring in the world. Regardless of any possible commitment, this period is an outstanding
opportunity to train the capabilities of EUROCORPS in the function as a Land Component
Command, ready to conduct all
kinds of operations in a joint environment, which is nowadays a
standard feature of all operational
deployments.
Looking further into the future we
already know that Headquarters
EUROCORPS will take over the
command of ISAF for the second
time in 2012. This mission will put
HQ EUROCORPS into the spotlight again. An intensive preparation phase scheduled to start in
2011 will even increase the capacities of our Headquarters to
meet the requirements of NATO’s
most challenging mission.
The Command Group and I myself are looking forward to experiencing the time ahead of us. NRF
15, the ISAF preparation, my new
tasks linked to the Treaty of Strasbourg and the EUROCORPS
teamwork are going to be my
main points of effort. Together we
will prove that EUROCORPS is a
skilled, professional, experienced
and highly motivated HQ, anytime available to the Atlantic Alliance as well as to the European
Union.
Hans-Lothar Domröse
Lieutenant General
Commander Eurocorps
Hans-Lothar DOMRÖSE
Commander Eurocorps since 25.09.2007
who is who
Lieutenant General Hans-Lothar Domröse was born on 28th December 1
in Hanover. He entered the Bundeswehr in 1973 as an infantry soldier at M
anised Infantry Battalion 23, Braunschweig. Having studied economic and
ganisational sciences at the Bundeswehr University of Hamburg, from w
he graduated in 1977, he joined Mechanised Infantry Battalion 82, Lüneb
He has held a number of operational assignments and commands.
In 2008 he went on another mission abroad in the function as Chief of Sta
HQ ISAF in Kabul / Afghanistan.
From January until September 2009 he was assigned to German Army Fo
Command in Koblenz in preparation for his new command responsibility
Jean-Pierre DEVOS
Commander of the Multinational Command
Support Brigade since 04.09.2009
Colonel Jean-Pierre DEVOS was born on 24
March 1959. He entered in 1977 the Belgian
Royal Military Academy as student of the 132
Polytechnic promotion (telecommunications
and ballistics). He has held a number of operational assignments and commands in Signal
Regiments.
He was promoted to the rank of Colonel in June
2005 and was appointed Chief of the CIS Section of the Land Component (G6) and Brigade
level of the five CIS groups of the Belgian Land
Component since November 2005.
EUROCORPS
Olivier DE LA MAISONNEUVE
Grzegorz BUSZKA
Deputy Chief of Staff Operations since 21.09.2009
Brigadier General Olivier DE LA MAISONNEUVE was born in 1957 in Paris. As
a graduate of the Saint-Cyr Military Academy in the “Général Rollet” class
(1978/80) he chose the armoured cavalry after his two-year training period.
His officer’s military career includes periods as commander of armoured regiments, operational assignments, and also postings at the French National Horsemastership Academy in Saumur.
In 2006, he joined the French Army Human Resources Command as Chief Combat Branch (infantry, armoured cavalry and sports) where he served for three
years.
Deputy Chief of Staff Support since 21.0
Brigadier General Grzegorz BUSZKA wa
cember 1958. In September 1977 he joi
POZNAN (Poland), from which he gradu
He has held a number of operational ass
In 2006 as the Brigade Commander of t
served in AL-KUT (Iraq)– IRAQ (AL – K
Deputy Commander of the 16th Mechan
2008 he was the Polish Military Co
Afghanistan.
French Senior National Representative
4
Polish Senior National Representative
1952
Mechd orwhich
burg.
aff at
orces
y.
Philippe MARTIN
Belgian Senior National Representative
Deputy Commander since 21.09.2009
Major General Philippe MARTIN was born on 4 December 1953 in Brussels
(Belgium). After his studies at the Athénée Royal of Ixelles, he joined the Royal
Military Academy in September 1971 with the 111th class Combined Arms
and subsequently completed his military training at the Belgian Armour
school. He has held a number of operational assignments and commands.
Promoted to the rank of Major General in December 2004, he became assistant to the deputy chief of staff operations and training (ACOS Ops & Trg),
where he was in charge of the support and training for operations.
From March 2008 until August 2009 he was Deputy Chief of Staff Welfare.
A
09.2009
as born in PSARY (Poland) on 11 Deined the Armored Military College in
uated in 1981 as a Second Lieutenant.
signments and commands.
the Polish Brigade Combat Team, he
KUT);and in 2007 he served as the
nized Division in ELBLAG (Poland). In
ontingent Commander of ISAF in
Alfredo RAMÍREZ
Spanish Senior National Representative
Chief of Staff since 21.09.2009
Major General Alfredo RAMÍREZ was born on 23rd
December 1954 in Melilla, Spain. He joined the
Army as a cadet in the Military Academy in
Zaragoza. He completed his studies in the Signal
Corps Academy, being promoted to the rank of
Lieutenant in 1975. He has held a number of operational assignments and commands.
As a Brigadier General he served as Deputy Chief
of Staff Support in HQ Eurocorps since 18 Sep
2007.
Lutz-Erich NIEMANN
German Senior National Representative
Deputy Chief of Staff Training & Resources since 21.09.2009
Brigadier General Lutz-Erich NIEMANN was born on 8 March 1957 in Wolfenbüttel (Germany). On 1 July 1975, having finished secondary school, he entered
the German Army in the 4th Company of the 210th Heavy Engineers Battalion
(Pionierbataillon 210) in Munich (Germany). He entered the officer's career and
took up studies of pedagogy at the Bundeswehr University of Munich (Germany)
on 1 April 1977. He has held a number of operational assignments and commands.
On 20 February 2006 he was appointed Brigade Commander of 12th Armoured
Brigade (Panzerbrigade 12 ) in Amberg (Germany). From May until November
2006 he was Cdr MNB (S) in KOSOVO. On 1 December 2006 he was promoted
5
change of command
at hq eurocorps
Chief of Defence of Belgium: General Delcour
Chief of Defence of France: General Georgelin
Chief of Defence of Germany: General Schneiderhahn
Chief of Defence of Spain: General Rodríguez Fernández
Chief of Defence of Luxembourg: General Reinig
every second year headquarters eurocorps organizes its change of command
ceremony.
This event is a highlight for
the military authorities of our
framework and associated
nations and the local authorities of our garrison region.
This is the ideal opportunity
for them to reaffirm the strong
signal of European military
cooperation for which HQ
Eurocorps stands.
Numerous meetings, planning sequences and training
hours preceded this event.
Officers, NCOs, soldiers and
civilians of our headquarters
were involved in the
smoothly running execution
of this happening. Drivers,
cooks, escorts, security personnel, parading detach-
6
ments, medical support, photographers and many more
have performed an outstanding job.
In the true spirit of military
tradition, whatever rank or
nationality, everybody contributed to the success of this
special occasion.
Co-presided by the highest
military representatives of
Belgium, France, Germany,
Luxembourg and Spain, General Gaston Reinig, Chief of
Defence of Luxembourg,
handed over the command of
HQ Eurocorps. We had to say
goodbye to Lieutenant General Pedro Pitarch, our second
Spanish
Corps
Commander and at the same
time we warmly welcomed
Lieutenant General HansLothar Domröse, our third
German Corps Commander.
change of command
french - german brigade
on 24 september 2009 the change
of command at the french german
brigade was co-presided by the
deputy commander of the german
“heeresführungskommando”, major
general bruno kasdorf, and the
deputy commander of the french
“commandement des forces ter-
restres”, major general hervé charpentier. at the robert schuman barracks in müllheim, the german
brigadier general andreas berg
handed over his command to the
french brigadier general philippe
chalmel.
At the same time the post of the deputy
commander was handed over from the
French Colonel Dominique Laugel to
the German Colonel Klaus Hahndel. The
ceremony took place in the presence of
the Eurocorps Commanding General,
Lieutenant General Pedro Pitarch. The
French-German Brigade is under operational command of HQ Eurocorps since
1992.
7
further developments of the
nato response force concept
Major (GS) Jan MAENHOUDT
G5 Policy & Studies
BAcKGROUND
NATO RESPONSE FORCE
The NATO Response Force (NRF) remains at the centre of the Alliance’s military transformation. The NRF is
intended to be a transformational force
that will be able not only to meet the security needs of NATO in the 21st century
but also to serve as an agent of change,
whereby all NATO member nations will
be able to bring new technology, capabilities, and concepts of operations into
their national forces. The NRF does not
only give us a highly ready and deployable force in which all the Allies will operate together. It is also a hothouse in
which advanced technologies and doctrines flourish. And since all Allies have
the possibility of contributing forces to
the NRF, the Alliance as a whole will
benefit from that.
At their meeting on 12 June 2009,
NATO defence ministers tackled the
transformation agenda. The ministers
agreed on a new structure and arrangements for the NRF. It will include a core
element, a command and control part,
as well as forces available on call. Moreover, the new force generation mechanisms will allow for more sustainable
and more operationally coherent contributions from individual Allies.
On the basis of SACEUR proposals and
North Atlantic Council (NAC) guidance
for the further development of the NRF
concept, the Military Committee endorsed a revised NRF structure that will
provide for the deterrence, operational
capacity and transformational benefit
that the NRF was established for. This
structure is essentially based on three
pillars: operational command and control (C2) elements, an Immediate Response Force (IRF) and a Response
Forces Pool (RFP). It has been designed
with the aim of providing a more flexible and credible military crisis management instrument that also offers a
maximum opportunity of participation
to the nations. However, there will be
8
neither change to the NATO decisionmaking process regarding the NRF deployment, nor any weakening of
national decision authority over force
contributions.
NRF MISSION AND
TASKS
The revised mission of the NRF is “to
provide a rapid demonstration of force
and the early establishment of a NATO
military presence in support of an Article
5 or Crisis Response Operation”. To that
end, the operational commander of the
NRF has to be prepared to conduct different tasks: contribute to the preservation of territorial integrity, demonstrate a
force package, conduct peace support
operations, conduct embargo operations, conduct disaster relief, protect
critical infrastructure, conduct security
operations and conduct initial entry operations. These tasks are not to be regarded as exclusive or prescriptive. They
will be kept under regular review and
revised in accordance with the strategic
conditions.
NRF cONcEPT AND
STRUcTURE
Operational Command and Control
Response operations are likely to be
mounted under conditions of some uncertainty so that precise planning may
be difficult. Thus, unless the environment is extremely hostile and beyond
the capacity of indigenous authorities to
provide local security, the NAC can approve the deployment of operationallevel C2 as the initial step in the NRF
deployment. This will be provided by a
Joint Forces Command and a Deployable Joint Staff Element (DJSE) with supporting communication and information
systems. Its purpose will be to gain and
provide situational awareness, coordinate and assess requirements, support
collaborative planning and conduct
command and control of follow-on ele-
ments. Thereafter, based upon a clearer
picture, a process of selection and generation will tailor the available forces to
the emerging mission requirements,
seeking to match political intent with
appropriate military capability. NRF elements will subsequently be deployed in
line with the commander’s needs, depending on availability, readiness and
strategic lift.
Immediate Response Force
For all operations, the first response will
be drawn from the IRF, which offers the
right elements from which to tailor a capable, credible and coherent response.
It will consist of tactical C2 elements
provided by the nations’ Graduated
Readiness Forces (Land/Maritime/Air)
Headquarters that will rotate on an annual basis in order to provide greater
continuity and save on the resources required to prepare for an NRF commitment. The IRF will be held at a
graduated readiness between 7 and 30
days Notice to Move, together with supporting arrangements, including mechanisms for commercial and host nation
support options. The land elements will
consist of a brigade-size force based on
infantry battalions with combat support
(CS) and combat service support (CSS)
elements. Air elements will include
combat, electronic warfare, reconnaissance, and CS and CSS capabilities.
Maritime elements will be based on the
present rotational Standing Naval Maritime Groups and Mine Counter Measure Groups. Furthermore, Special
Operations Forces, a CBRN Task Force
and a Joint Logistic Support Group are
part of the NRF. All forces within the IRF
will participate in the NRF-related training and exercise programmes, undergo
NATO validation and participate in the
NATO evaluation processes. NRF exercises will comprise the whole spectrum
from deploying the Operational Liaison
and Reconnaissance Team to activating
and deploying the NRF, the transitioning
to a follow-on force and re-deployment.
further developments of the
nato response force concept
Response Forces Pool
The RFP will consist of a broad spectrum
of capabilities encompassing C2, combat, CS and CSS capabilities. Nations
will nominate forces for the RFP on the
underlying premise that nominations
will be for a period chosen by the nation
concerned and under their own conditions. The different elements of the land
forces will be either heavy (armoured),
medium (mechanized) or light, depending on the contribution the nation is
willing to make. As the nominated
forces will need to operate in a combined and joint environment, they will
have to be supported by the full scale of
land enablers such as army aviation elements. National force contributions
could be assembled by groups of nations, who choose to train and operate
together. Nations can nominate their
forces at different readiness states: from
10 days Notice to Move or less up to 60
days. Units belonging to the RFP with
status “designated” (at the Global Force
Generation Conference held at SHAPE)
are to be considered as certified and
available High Readiness Forces for the
full range of possible operations. Those
elements of the RFP wishing to participate in the training programme should
declare their intent and coordinate their
participation with the respective component command.
cONcLUSION
The threats and missions that the NRF is
intended to address and accomplish will
undoubtedly require and encourage interoperability between the multinational
elements in order to effectively fulfil the
mission. NRF units must be able to fight
within the same battle space without regard to national origins and unconstrained by geographical boundaries.
The NRF 15 training and preparation
cycle is our next common challenge that
offers an excellent opportunity to enhance interoperability between the
committed multinational forces.
The new NRF concept appears to be a
more flexible approach in providing a
credible military crisis management instrument. However, it is critically reliant
on the nations’ capacity to provide the
resources needed and to exert the political will - not just to summon up that
will - but to exercise or use it, if and
when appropriate.
9
common tenacity
objectives
Major (GS) Hubert de CARNE
G7-Exercises
COMMON TENACITY 09
“we are in wildflecken to prepare ourselves for the task of nato response
force 15 and any possible follow-on
mission.” these words of lieutenantgeneral domröse, commander eurocorps, clearly underlined the high
importance of the exercise common
tenacity 09.
This exercise was our main effort for
2009. It marked a transition from exercises in a European Union led operation
which HQ EC conducted in the last two
years to exercises in a NATO led operation. CT09 was also the first step of the
NRF 15 preparation, including the rehearsal of the combat readiness evaluation (CREVAL).
Moreover, CT09 was a unique occasion
for all newcomers1 to discover their role
inside their functional area and to prove
themselves by contributing to the success of the battle.
ExERcISE OBJEcTIVES
EC command post (CP) trained to command and control the immediate response force (IRF) brigade and the land
component command (LCC) troops in
different missions in a semi-permissive
environment with serious asymmetrical
threats.
The scenario provided a complex environment for the planning and the conduct of the operations. The battle
captains had to use a comprehensive
approach, showing cultural awareness
and permanently assessing the success
of their actions and decisions.
Important concepts like counter-insurgency techniques, time sensitive targeting and counter-improvised explosive
devices procedures were alsotrained.
The interaction with other components
10
and a newly restructured higher joint
level were also played.
TRAINING OBJEcTIVES
All branches or functional areas trained
their Standing Operating Procedures or
relatively new procedures like time sensitive targeting or counter-improvised
explosive devices procedures. The mass
casualties (MASCAL) procedure was
successfully rehearsed, making us confident in case we would ever face the real
challenge.
The French German Brigade (FGB)
trained its own command and control
procedures with its subordinate units. It
also practiced the tactical reporting with
Headquarters Eurocorps.
MNCS Brigade and its HQ support battalion contributed to the exercise by deploying and building up the command
post. Our support proved each day how
efficient they are in assuming their NRF
responsibilities.
The deployed command post of HQ EC
also maintained contact with the homebase in Strasbourg and shared the common operating picture with it and
exchanged relevant information through
video television conference (VTC).
FUTURE cHALLENGES
The next milestone in the NRF preparation is planned for March 2010. EC will
be submitted to a NATO combat readiness evaluation in the next exercise Brilliant Ledger 10. In Wildflecken,
EUROCORPS already proved that it still
can take up NATO commitments in a
successful way. In Brilliant Ledger we
will confirm our readiness and show us
prepared to deal with any mission or to
tackle any crisis, how challenging they
might be.
common tenacity
“scenario-area
of operations”
Major (GS) Daniel LINKE
G5-Plans
the exercise common tenacity 09
was based on a fictitious scenario
developed by nato for the nato response force (nrf) preparation exercises. the geo – strategic
situation uses the geography of
africa as reference and called this
fictitious area: ‘cerasia’. the development of the crisis was adapted
to the timelines of eurocorps exercise
common tenacity 09 but also to
the subsequent eurocorps exercise
brilliant ledger 10 which would
be conducted in march 2010.
The crisis is focused on the Eastern part
of the Cerasian continent which is situated approximately 5000 Km South-East
of Europe. It comprises a collection of
states, where disintegrating political, social, economic, humanitarian and security conditions have created a
humanitarian disaster and given rise to
new trans-national risks and threats to
the vital interests of the Alliance. Especially the vital maritime artery through
the Red Sea, called ‘Strait of Bab ElMandeb’ in the scenario, is of strategic
interest of the Alliance in the region.
More than 60% of Europe’s energy supplies from the Middle East and a large
proportion of the world merchant fleet
transit through. Any interruption would
have immediate and significant effects
on Western countries economies. Due
to climate change, deforestation and the
increased rate of evaporation of the
Great Lakes and the White Nile, desertification is progressively affecting the hot,
dry areas of the Continent. This led to
competition between different ethnic
groups for arable land and widespread
famine is common. Therefore nearly a
half million people have remained de-
pendent on food aid. The Lack of Development carries to an austere Infrastructure. United Nations ranks the
countries of East Cerasia among the
worst in the world in terms of human development, including life expectancy,
education and sustenance. The lack of
social development as well as failures in
governance and the rule of law, especially in remote areas, have undermined
Two countries are in the middle of
the conflict in East Cerasia: KAMON
and TYTAN.
KAMON (population 38 million) is an
irresponsible government which has
created the basis of this crisis. In
order to expand the power base
among the majority ethnic called
‘Klorid’, KAMON’s President offered a
vision of ‘Klorid’ nationalism that
would provide the foundation for a
strong and prosperous KAMON. To
achieve this vision, he established a
policy of 'Kloridisation' aimed at
promoting development in Klorid
tribal areas with funds from oil exports and supported by a militia,
called ‘Elkaim’, which perpetrated
extreme human rights violations and
atrocities against the non-Klorid
population.
TYTAN (population 60 million) is a
country with weak governance that
has a border dispute with KAMON.
TYTAN is the victim of KAMON’s aggressive policies, as well as its own
failure to build a stable, multicultural democracy. Despite its legitimacy
through
internationally
recognised elections, the coalition
government has been undermined
by widespread corruption and has
been generally ineffective in improving security and economic development.
the credibility of the governments in the
region.
The discovery of oil in a border region
between KAMON and TYTAN called
‘Tori Pocket’ seemed to have encouraged KAMON to expand the Kloridistaion project within Tytan’s borders and
is refuelling the ethnic argument of years
past. Finally KAMON attempted to seize
the Tori Pocket by force in Nov 08.
KAMON forces achieved only limited
success and on 14 Mar 09 the United
Nations brokered a Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) between TYTAN and
KAMON. The Implementation of this
agreement is dependent upon deployment of a UN force (United Nations
Mission to East Cerasia (UNMEC)) authorised under UNSCR 4153 (2009).
With the exception of a number of military observers, the UN, has been unable to generate such a force and has
assessed that if the situation in the TORI
Pocket and surrounding region will
worsen further, it is likely to result in an
even greater humanitarian disaster and
to increase the risk of regional conflict.
The North-Atlantic Council (NAC) considered a request from the UN Secretary
General for possible NATO assistance in
restoring peace and security in East
Cerasia under Chapter VII of the UN
Charter. The NAC has agreed to assist
the UN and has directed SACEUR to initiate operational planning under the provision of UNSCR 4189 (2009) for a
Peace Support Operations in East Cerasia as a bridging operation for six
months and afterwards to hand-over to
an UN follow-on force.
The Strategic Planning Guidance (SPG)
provides the direction to launch the
NATO Response Force (NRF) to conduct
this military operation in close cooperation with other international and national efforts in order to contain the
crisis, to implement the CFA and to improve stability. Subsequently EUROCORPS has deployed as Land
Component Command (LCC) with the
French-German Brigade as NRF
11
common tenacity
“rls organization”
MNCS Brigade
whenever eurocorps arrives
at a training area to start an
exercise, a lot of preparation
has already been done by the
multinational command support
brigade (mncsb) and its units
to have everything prepared for
the exercise.
COMMON TENACITY 09
During exercises the Brigade
comprises, on the one hand, several CIS (Communication and Information Systems) detachments
coming from Eurocorps and the
Contracting Parties and, on the
other hand, Headquarters Support
Battalion (HQ Spt Bn) Eurocorps
as main subordinate units. While
the CIS detachments provide CIS
support to the exercise, HQ Spt
Bn Eurocorps provides all kinds of
Real Life Support (RLS) to all exercise participants. To accomplish
these tasks, MNCSB installs a Real
Life Support Coordination Centre
(RLSCC) in the exercise area,
where all Real Life Support issues
are handled and coordinated.
Right from the first day of the
command post set-up, the real life
of all soldiers needs to be organized. Therefore, the RLSCC of the
Brigade has chronologically defined and organized procedures
and services to be executed by
HQ Spt Bn. In fact, the RLSCC is
the “Centre of Gravity“ in the field
of real life. External services like
the Service Centre of WILDFLECKEN Camp, the laundry firm,
the copy machine rental firms and
the people in charge of forklift operations must be contacted in
order to make arrangements on
the services to be provided so that
all these services are available
when and where needed. While
the RLSCC is more or less the
12
brain of Real Life Support, the RLS
EC (Real Life Support Execution
Centre) installed by the HQ Spt
Bn staff is rather “the muscle“ that
executes the orders given by the
RLSCC. All coordination with the
Host Nation is done via the
RLSCC.
But let us start chronologically. Indeed, as neither the tents nor the
computers arrive by themselves in
the training area, it all starts with
the deployment of the material
and personnel needed. All the
material has to be loaded and
fixed either in 20-foot containers
or on flat racks. The containers are
then usually transported by a
French “Régiment de train“ in different convoys from STRASBOURG to the exercise location.
The deployment starts about 4 to
5 weeks before the actual start of
the exercise in order to allow
Headquarters Support Battalion
and the CIS units to install everything.
Before the first convoy gets on the
road, a small RLS advance party
already travels to the training area
in order to install the RLSCC, the
in-processing point and the
kitchen. Indeed, these three installations are indispensable to be
ready in order to receive the first
waves of material and troops on
the first day of the deployment.
For CT09 this took place between
the 7th and the 9th of October already.
Once the real deployment begins,
we reach the point of no return.
All kinds of material arrive in the
training area like an unstoppable
waterfall. Therefore, at least the
three aforementioned services
have to be ready from the very beginning. For this exercise, the first
convoy was loaded in STRASBOURG on Tuesday 13 October.
common tenacity
“rls organization”
The French transportation regiment arrived
with 8 VTL-R (Véhicule de Transport Léger –
Remorque = which means “light transport vehicle with trailer“) and the first sixteen 20-foot
containers and equivalents were loaded.
Once the uploading had been finished, the
vehicles headed for WILDFLECKEN and the
downloading was carried out during the same
evening. Once that was completed, the convoy personnel refueled the vehicles and went
to have a late dinner. After a night of eight
hours of sleep as a minimum (according to
European regulations) and a breakfast, the
transporters returned to STRASBOURG in
order to be reloaded. During CT09, 66 containers were transported to the deployment
zone. When the Eurocorps HQ personnel arrived in WILDFLECKEN, the MNCSB already
started the planning for the redeployment.
On the day the HQ Eurocorps personnel arrive at the exercise location, it all starts with
the in-processing. The whole team in charge
of the in-processing tries to ensure that the
people arriving at the exercise location are
amazed to meet obliging people who give
them a warm welcome, an exercise badge
with a photo, show them the way to a kitchen
where they will receive their food and provide
a bed to sleep in. In addition, they get all sorts
of general information to help them “survive“
the entire duration of the exercise.
Real Life Support covers a range of services
from which everybody benefits during a normal day of life in the camp. Let us begin with
the catering service. As already mentioned,
the catering service is one of the first services
to be provided in the exercise camp. It has to
be operational from Day 1 of the command
post set-up phase. Thus, the catering platoon
from HQ Spt Bn, having taken over the
kitchen facility, provides meals throughout the
deployment period, starting with dinner on
Day 1 and ending with breakfast on the last
day of redeployment.
13
common tenacity “rls organization”
But catering and accommodation is not
the only support needed. To build up the
command post, electrical power is
needed. The power supply team from
HQ SptBn, known as the “Power
Rangers“, install the powerful generators
produced by the BEL manufacturer
BOBININDUS. These systems need permanent monitoring, because once working they run 24 hours a day. An
unforeseen power breakdown that cannot be fixed immediately may have a
huge impact on the exercise, because
COMMON TENACITY 09
14
programmed servers might lose their
configuration when disconnected from
power for a certain time. So the Power
Rangers have a really important job.
But to make a generator work, of course
fuel is needed. The HQ Spt Bn fuel team
provides fuel for the whole exercise. This
means providing fuel not only for generators but also for heaters and vehicles.
To ensure this service, the fuel team normally takes over one fuel pump of the
fuel station in the exercise camp. Replenishment will be done through the
Host Nation, sometimes by using our
FRA SCANIA 10,000l fuel truck. For
CT09, Eurocorps had a daily consumption of approximately 5000l of Diesel
and was supported by Host Nation assets comprising three additional DEU
fuel trucks (2 x 4,600l; 1 x 18,000l).
Vehicles sometimes break down; therefore Maintenance also sends a small
team to repair vehicles at the exercise
location, if necessary.
Since work continues in the exercise
area, the military clothing of the people
needs to be cleaned. Eurocorps does not
possess own laundry assets, so G8 usually contracts a civilian laundry service
to get this job done. At this point, the
Warehouse team gets involved. Their
task is to collect and distribute the laundry bags as well as ensure accountability so that the provider’s invoices can be
checked for correctness. During CT09
we had more than a thousand laundry
bags to be cleaned.
However, running an exercise also requires taking care of the morale and
welfare of the people. Consequently HQ
SptBn does not just provide the catering
platoon, but also barmen (and –women)
from the SRL (Service Restauration et
Loisir), who manage the Eurobar day by
day. In the Eurobar, drinks, coffee & beverages including little snacks are offered,
so that exercise participants may use the
bar for recreation, cohesion or just 15
minutes chill-out from the exercise scenario. The Eurobar furthermore provides
Internet access for free, so that people
are able to use modern means of communication not only to contact their
families but also to handle their personal
affairs such as internet banking or official e-mailing.
common tenacity “rls organization”
As we are all soldiers, who need to remain in good physical shape, the Sports
Cell of HQ Spt Bn was also deployed to
the exercise location. Eurocorps always
tries to have the local gymnasium at its
disposal for as often and as long as possible in order to offer it to its troops during the exercise. The sports cell team try
to bring a large variety of sports equipment with them. This includes several
types of balls, mountain bikes, badminton and squash rackets, etc. The
sport service is not only provided during
the day, but also during evening hours,
when the players have the time to train
outside their shift hours. In WILDFLECKEN Rhön-Barracks we have had
the additional luxury of being able to
use not only the local gym, which was
very well equipped, but also the sauna.
This gave the users the opportunity to do
muscle building and relax at a single
place. Quite a lot of us enjoyed this
wide range of recreation services. Finally, all this support was available during the whole time somebody from
Eurocorps stayed at WILDFLECKEN.
To sum it up: a functioning RLS in an exercise is the result of the work of a lot of
people who all work in the background,
where usually nobody sees their efforts.
In fact, their work only becomes visible
for everybody at the moment something
is not up and running; so especially the
RLS personnel are normally very grateful
whenever their work is appreciated.
Maybe you remember this next time you
enjoy a nice meal or get your clean and
nice-smelling laundry back. In the end,
the last soldiers of MNCS Bde left the exercise area after closing down the last
services.
This took place on the 11th of December.
15
common tenacity
key functional areas
DISTAFF
COMMON TEANCITY 09
The Directing Staff (DISTAFF) was responsible for the execution of this specific part of the exercise. DISTAFF was
commanded by EXDIR: Major General
RAMIREZ (COS EC). In the structure of
DISTAFF were regrouped: the Exercise
Director (EXDIR), Evaluation (EVAL) by
German Brigadier General NIEMANN
(DCOS T&R EC) and Exercise Control
(EXCON) with its Response Cells (RC):
Higher Control (HICON) led by
Brigadier General (ITA) VERCELOTTI,
Lower Control (LOCON), Situation of
Forces (SITFOR), White Cell (WCELL)
and the neighboring units called FLANCON such as Air Component Command
(ACC), Maritime Component Command
(MCC), Psychological Operations Task
Force (POTF) and Chemical, Biological,
Radiological and Nuclear Task Force
(CBRN).
Exercise Common Tenacity 09 started in
2008 with the decision on the training
scenario. The NRF Land Component
Command (LCC) would play the role of
primary training audience and the
French-German Brigade (FGB) of secondary training audience.
In order to obtain the desired training effects a series of incidents trigger actions
at LCC-level, giving all levels of command the opportunity to react. This
should enable the players to experience
the results of their actions as close as
possible to the reality. The Response
16
Cells create this almost real world of
KAMON and TYTAN by injecting incidents which are monitored and eventually adapted in order to achieve the
exercise training objectives. Furthermore
members of WCELL physically play
KAMON and TYTAN representatives
who are present at the meetings with
NRF LCC CP. It is up to EXCON and
EVAL to feel the temperature at NRF
LCC CP / FGB and to steer the exercise
to its desired training effect.
PRIMARy TARGET
AUDIENcE
The NATO Response Force (NRF) Land
Component Command (LCC) Command
Post (CP) is the primary training audience (PTA) for this exercise.
NRF forces must be able to deploy
quickly to wherever needed in austere
conditions. In order to be light and rapidly deployable, HQ Eurocorps (EC) has
chosen the “tent” solution for its Command Post. This option requests a certain
build up time and is characterized by a
reduced tactical mobility once deployed
in theatre.
NRF LCC CP, located next to Camp
Porta in the Wildflecken Training Area,
represents a large number of EC owned
tents - the working area for the functional areas - surrounded by barbed wire
for protection and connected to the
world with telephones, radios, computers and satellites. Eurocorps' Multina-
tional Command Support Brigade realized the build up including the CIS, supports the functioning, provides the
technical know-how and also secures
this CP.
NRF LCC CP represents several highly
specialized military experts (staff officers, NCOs and privates) coming from
different countries, well trained and
united to produce the best guidelines
possible in order to reach the operational goals of our Corps Commander.
During the exercise the concept of
"Train as you fight" now reaches its highest and most realistic approach. The
challenging scenario pushes the capacities of the CP to their limits and provides the opportunity to test if the
desired NRF objectives are realized.
The combination of excellent equipment and highly trained military personnel guarantees NRF LCC CP's
success, during exercises as well as in
operation.
SEcONDARy
AUDIENcE
TRAINING
The French German Brigade (FGB) was
created following a summit between former German Chancellor H. Kohl and
former French President F. Mitterrrand in
the late 1980’s. Since 1992, FGB has
been placed under the operational command of Eurocorps and can be considered as its spearhead. FGB is a light
armoured brigade that has already un-
dergone missions abroad. Deployed,
FGB is over 5200 men strong.
During NATO Response Force 15 preparation, FGB trains to be able to enter into
an insecure territory, settle and deploy
its forces in order to transform the controlled area into a Safe and Secure Environment (SASE).
Equipped with the German command
and information system ‘‘ Führungs Informations System des Herres’’ (FülnfoSysH), FGB is able to conduct
operations and implement planning procedures quickly. This makes FGB a stateof-the-art combat formation.
One of the Brigade’s main challenges
represents the achievement of FülnfoSysH compatibility with Eurocorps’
French communication system SICF.
During Common Tenacity 09, FGB was
exercising as secondary training audience (STA). Roughly 200 personal of its
headquarters and response cells were
present, including 14 reservists and 20
external persons.
WHITE cELL
A name that sounds mysterious. The
magic behind this term is the secret of
animation. Media simulation, representatives of international organizations,
non gouvernemental organizations,
gouvernemental officials, ambassadors,
police leaders, you name it.
All these people confront the training
audiences with role players who seriously take care of the population to
criminal leaders. Their input basically
creates the problems with which LCC is
confronted and for which solutions have
to be developed. How can we support
the local people? What is the aim of our
mission, how can we explain it? What
do we do in this specific situation?
The representatives of all these organizations met with the officers and NCOs
of LCC CP. They talk and negotiate and
develop solutions. As a kind of master of
the game, the team added value to the
realism of the exercise. High ranking officials often play their own roles or roles
of people they’re acquainted to. This cell
counted 15 people of 7 different nationalities, including 6 civilians and one reservist. They were players, masterminds
but also media professionals giving
colour to the whole exercise picture.
POLITIcAL ADVISER
A Political Adviser (POLAD) provides
support to the Commander and staff in
understanding both: the political environment and the peace making process.
POLADs are generally sent to sensitive
areas in a conflicting environment. In
deployment theatres, the military has to
align with political activities on the
ground, because politics motivates what
is happening on the battlefield. It’s therefore paramount to bear in mind the importance of conducting continuous
discussions with civilian partners, building alliances and showing flexibility towards unforeseen outcomes.
Mr. Dr. Dana Eyre, originating from
Oceanside, Southern California, was
Common Tenacity 09’s POLAD. He explained: “You won’t be doing what you
expected, so keep focused on goals and
results rather than on expectations.
Apart from some details, the scenario
appeared to be very close to real world
situations”.
JOINT EFFEcTS cENTER
JEC stands for Joint Effects Centre. Its director is in charge of a six headed team,
representing 3 nations (Belgium, France,
and Greece). JEC coordinates lethal and
non-lethal actions in close coordination
with other functional areas, such as In-
formation Operations (InfoOps),
Psychological operations (PsyOps), G3
Air, Fire Support Coordination Centre
(FSCC), Civil-Military Cooperation
(CIMIC), PAO (Public Affairs Office), in
order to achieve the desired effects leading to a pre-defined end state.
Planning is done 3 to 7 days in advance.
The JEC members focus also on the effects assessment and forecast in order to
check if the operation is on track, to give
early warnings to the Command Group
and to initiate required readjustments.
Since its creation in 2008, it is the fourth
time that a JEC participated in an exercise.
cIMIc
Civil Military Cooperation (CIMIC) constitutes an interface between military
forces and civil actors, such as population, local authorities, international organizations, governmental and non
governmental organizations present in
the area of operations.
CIMIC’s main task is to establish and
maintain good relationships with non
military actors, in order to bring the cooperation with them to the widest possible extent.
All actions conducted by CIMIC have to
support the commander’s mission. By
doing this, CIMIC contributes to force
acceptance and situational awareness.
The G9 branch within LCC CP consists
in a dedicated team of fourteen from six
nations (Germany, France, Belgium,
Spain, Poland and USA), including reservists, augmentees and observers.
The three composing sections are divided as follow: an operation section
monitoring the civil situation and CIMIC
missions; a plan section contributing to
all LCC CP planning activities; and finally a liaison section permanently in
17
distinguished
visitors media day
COMMON TENACITY 09
on 24 november 2009 hq eurocorps invited distinguished visitors and media representatives to camp wildflecken. two offices prepared this day: the joint visitor
bureau (jvb) of dcos training & resources-g1 and the
media information center (mic) manned by pao.
This is an important day for the exercise because this is the opportunity to show to our visitors the achievements reached by
our multinational headquarters and to offer to the media an
insight in the start of the HQ Eurocorps’s NRF preparation
cycle.
The Commanding General, German Lieutenant General HansLothar DOMRÖSE, welcomed the distinguished visitors and
18
they started a tour of the different elements involved in Common Tenacity 09: the Directing Staff (DISTAFF), the Primary
Training audience (PTA): NRF LCC CP and the Secondary
Training Audience (STA): the French German Brigade (FGB).
Each area shared its experiences with the military visitors.
The Public Affairs Office took the media representatives on another tour through the training area. First they were briefed on
HQ Eurocorps and then in detail on the exercise. At the LCC
Joint Operations Center they witnessed a played incident, from
the moment the information reached the command post till
the commander issued his orders. This action gave them a dynamic view on what is going on in the Command Post of a
Land Component Command. At the FGB they were briefed
and had the opportunity to see the state of the art new communication system.
internet - exercise news
INTERNET
how the exercise was presented to the large internet
public.
This time HQ Eurocorps had the possibility to present its
actions during the annual mayor exercise on the world wide
web. The communication plan had the intent to publish
each day a story on the exercise. As mentioned in the NATO
Public Affairs Policy, the Internet is considered the most
powerfull tool of communication and each unit should use
this medium in order to issue its quality information. The
site reaches to a very broad public and should be easy to
access, be attractif and interactif.
HQ Eurocorps choose to use the news page of its web site
as a kind of web log for the exercise Common Tenacity
2009. Daily news updates documented with articles specific happenings such as the celebration of the Polish National Day, the Opening Ceremony or the Belgian King Day.
An amount of in-depth articles described the functioning of
the exercise by highlighting the importance of key areas
such as the Land Component Command (LCC) Command
Post (CP), the Joint Operation Center, the Joint Effect Center, the Directing Staff, the White Cell, Real Life Support or
the participanting units like the French German Brigade.
This variety of information gave an attractif detailed
overview of what was going on in Wildflecken Training Area
between 09 and 26 November 2009.
A result of the impact of this effort became visible through
the analysis of the web visits: it showed a considerable increase of visits coming from the local region of Würzburg.
ExERcISE NEWS
hq eurocorps exercise participants are used to get each
second day an exercise news paper.
How a LCC CP distributes internal information is one of the
NRF/HRFcertification criteria for the Public Affairs Office
(PAO). Therefore the Media Information Center issues a two
pages information sheet in English, called “Exercise Common
Tenacity 09 News”. Each second day this paper is distributed
in Wildflecken to all the exercise participants and also send
(by email) to the participants at the Home Base in Strasbourg.
For the families this news paper is also published on the Eurocorps community page of our website.
The aim of this effort is to inform everybody on the on-going
exercise and to highlight specific elements. Only a small part
of the soldiers are working in the Command Post and are
therefore not aware of who is working to make their exercise
a success. On the other hand the personnel outside the CP
doesn’t know exactly all the exercise details. The Exercise
News provides information that offers a view on both sides of
the medal: the players and the real life support.
For many newcomers and augmentees the exercise news provides a glance at the world outside of their functional area.
During the exercise period the paper tries to give the largest
possible view on the complexity of such an enterprise. In
order to provide this kind of information two officers of the
Media Information Center went interviewing participants at
their working area in each corner of the Training Area, and the
photographers provided the necessary images.
The highlighted working areas are glad to have the opportunity
to tell about their efforts and to be recognized by the readers.
The exercise news contributed to the cohesion of the soldiers
at the Wildflecken Training Area. The 1200 dedicated men and
women coming from 14 nations were very well informed and
could therefore better concentrate on the success of Common
Tenacity 09.
19
euretex
Major Ralph BRIEND
ENG-Ops
euretex is eurocorps major engineers training exercise. euretex
2009 was conducted in a multinational environment in order to develop
and improve the interoperability of the
engineer units affiliated to eurocorps.
The engineer units came from Belgium,
France, Germany and Spain. From 9 to
17 June 2009 the Spanish Engineer
Brigade of Burgos hosted EURETEX in
the
Matagrande Training
Area.
The movement and transport coordination centers of our Framework Nations
were faced with a considerable challenge, having to marshal all the different
contingents using all means of transport
available (air, railway, road and sea).
The participating units were re-organized into a Multinational Engineer Task
Force. The companies were deployed
EXERCISE
20
and the commander of the MN ENG TF
briefed the coy commanders. Three
combat engineer coys, a large Constr
Coy and an EOD element were created.
Each coy was commanded by a different nation and consisted of platoons of
different nations. Nearly twenty different
units contributed to resourcing EURETEX 09. Belgium and Germany mainly
sent heavy engineer assets whereas
France and Spain offered Engineer combat assets.
The multinational task force accomplished several missions and tasks during the exercise in order to test the
national materials and procedures of the
different nations. The sappers performed
activities in the fields of mobility,
counter-mobility and survivability, each
coy dealing with a different subject each
day.
The CBRN and EOD programmes were
designed to overlap at certain stages
with the sappers’ programme, and this
synchronisation went perfectly well. The
Spanish CBRN unit from Valencia provided the core of the multinational
CBRN detachment.
The GEO and METOC sections had a
separate programme in support of other
functions (printing of maps, development of specific maps, recce for itineraries…). The Combined Geo Support
Unit (CGSU) was mainly composed of
French, German and Spanish elements.
The EC METOC section produced daily
weather forecasts and information on
weather impact throughout the exercise.
EURETEX 2009 ended with a VIP day.
On behalf of the COM EC, Brigadier
General STAES (DCOS Ops) welcomed
delegations from Belgium, France, Germany, Poland and Spain. They had the
opportunity to make themselves a picture of what had been going on during
the week and appreciate the engineer
euretex
interoperability demonstrated in dynamic displays. Static demonstrations
presented by civilian companies, with
an emphasis on force protection and
EOD assets, formed the end of the VIP
day.
The overall aim of EURETEX 2009 was
to foster and enhance multinational engineer interoperability. It was a good op-
portunity to exchange expertise on ENG
procedures at the tactical level and become familiar with the ENG equipment
of the other EC Framework Nations. All
nations appreciated the chance to participate in such an exercise, although it
cost too much from their point of view.
A common Lesson Learned seemed to
be that such a major exercise should be
scheduled every two or three years.
This major Eurocorps engineer exercise
once again proved the interoperability
of Eurocorps units.
The next EURETEX will probably take
place at the new Military Engineering
Center Of Excellence (MECOE) located
in Ingolstadt. This will be an occasion to
invite the EC Framework Nations in
order to prepare EURETEX 2011, which
will be hosted by Belgium.
21
blue gabriel
one step towards the future
Captain Fernando VICH-REDONDO
MNCS BDE-S6
in such an innovative field as communication and information systems
(cis) the effort to keep updated of
advances must be equal to the one of
implementing them and make them interoperable in a multinational environment with the heterogeneous bundle of
old-fashioned systems that still dwell
in the sheds of our europe. this challenge, also found in the daily life in
civilian enterprises, becomes an
odyssey when additional operational
constraints are added to the mixture
such as, for example, the strict security regulations, the high mobility
requirement and the manifest language barriers.
EXERCISE
The process of building up a new Europe certainly was not that different from
the one just explained and was considered even more complex at the start, just
after the end of World War II. Anyway,
despite the difficulties, we have taken a
long path and each stone along the way
has been an additional motivation to
take a step in the right direction. Now
the next step, in terms of European CIS,
is arriving, and Blue Gabriel 09 has provided the opportunity to take this step.
Blue Gabriel 09 took place in Chenevieres Barracks in Luneville (France)
from 15th until 25th of June 2009, involving CIS units from 4 different countries: 53rd French Signal Regiment from
Luneville, 1st Spanish Signal Regiment
from Burgos, 291st German Signal Bat-
22
talion from Sigmaringen, 5th Belgian Signal Group and Multinational Command
Support Brigade (MNCSB) with his two
signal companies, the CIS Coy from
Strasbourg and the Signal Coy from Sigmaringen.
The exercise was planned to be an initial
footprint on the Headquarters Eurocorps
(HQ EC) path to the NRF 15 period and
its main goal was to achieve interoperability in the most extensive sense of the
word. A common way to approach interoperability is to divide it into human
interoperability and “mechanical“ interoperability.
The first aspect mentioned has been improved not only by using classical procedures, which involved meetings,
demonstrations and social activities
aimed at sharing knowledge and experience, but also by applying a well-known
“democratic“ informational tool in the
documentation process. Thus, it was
Bluegapedia, a military version of famous Wikipedia, that allowed everybody willing to take part in the
documentation process.
The second aspect is normally a matter
of time. The interoperability of assets is
not that complex, because it just depends on the knowledge and application of certain protocols and standards.
Therefore, in order to achieve interoperability, several tests were executed:
As the “main course“ the communications structure itself, as a whole new system, was tested. It included new
equipment such as French Astride
(Switch) and HDTAC (Satellite Terminal),
German Digital Rifu (Line of Sight) and
Spanish TLB-50 (Satellite Terminal) and
Backbone IP Stations (BBIP). On the
other hand, other well-known equipment was used in a different way, such
as German Van BW (Local Area Network System).
As “complementary dishes“ radio network tests, with Stanag 5066 and Information Services (IS) tests, were carried
out. This included a Spanish FFTS UPV
demonstration (Friendly Force Tracking
System from Polytechnic University of
Valencia), a MIP/Mail gateway to interconnect SIMACET and SICF, and the IEG
(Information Exchange Gateway), which
is planned to connect the NATO Secret
network with EC Mission Secret in a secure way.
Even though some local success was
achieved in interconnecting certain assets - Astride, HDTAC, Digital Rifu, TLB50, Spanish BBIP - the communications
structure test was unsuccessful in terms
of global connectivity, and the complete
platform was never 100% operational as
initially planned.
The IS tests were not that far away from
this “disappointing“ outcome, as MIP
gateway turned out to be non-operational and the IEG was not totally configured.
No matter how bad it looked, the buildup of Europe was never cancelled because of a single pebble on the path.
After some analysis had been undertaken, obstacles have always been
avoided. Identical lessons can be drawn
from this exercise, because after all it is
blue gabriel
units participating
Eurocorps
MNCSB
5th Belgian Signal Group
291st German Signal Battalion from Sigmaringen
1st Spanish Signal Regiment from Burgos
53rd French Signal Regiment from Luneville
BLUEGAPEDIA
the purpose of such an exercise to identify potential problems
in order to find feasible solutions. Inevitably, trouble encountered forms the basis of change. Thus, though not being a
clamorous success, Blue Gabriel 09 has led the way to a new
harmonized responsibility sharing concept based on IP systems. Yes, it’s true! IP came to save us from this Babel of protocols. IP world came with his promising convergence solidly
founded in a proper quality of service. And both together will
accomplish the miracle of a simplified network administration
under an efficient bandwidth management.
This is exactly what Blue Gabriel 09 may have told us: the solution to the challenges is closer than ever, if we are courageous enough to face these challenges as has been done
during this latest exercise. It is time for our nations to tackle
these challenges as other future EC Framework Nations have
already done. It is time to look ahead and simplify the burden
sharing by implementing IP technologies consistently .
23
headquarters
support
battalion coin
Lieutenant-Colonel Bart DUYCK
HQ Spt Bn Comdr
military units have always had typical stamps to define their
own identity. therefore, we have picked up the idea to mint our
own battalion coin identifying all our personnel. it is a way to
tangibly pat soldiers on the back and tell them “you are members of the battalion” which enhances cohesion and improves
team spirit; everybody needs that! the coin identifies its
bearer as a unit member and is a symbol of great pride, respect and fellowship. recognized as an “americanism”, the
coin is pretty much widely used throughout all military forces
in the world.
EUROCORPS
The Battalion’s crest displayed on the front side
of the coin is the copy of the Commander’s pennant of the former FrenchGerman “Bataillon de Quartier
Général / Stabs-UnterstützungsBataillon” created in the early
nineteen-nineties. It was
originally taken from the
Eurocorps’ crest, but was
slightly modified to
match the Support Battalion’s missions. Instead of the sword
sported by the Eurocorps crest, we have a
golden winged arm in
armour holding a bolt
of lightning in its fist:
the armour stands for the
fighting military unit, the
wing for its transport missions, and the bolt for the
communication tasks. The reverse side of the coin is engraved with our motto “BOUND
TO SUCCEED” surrounded by the
inscription “Headquarters Support Battalion Eurocorps”. Last but not least, each
coin’s backside is personalized by each receiver’s
name. Another series of Battalion coins has also been issued
as gifts to externals with the only difference that it bears on
the backside the mention “presented by the Commander” instead of the holder’s name.
24
From now on, a nominative Battalion coin will be formally issued to every newcomer upon arrival as morale booster and
to prove membership in the unit when challenged. The tradition of a challenge is the most common way to ensure that all
members are permanently carrying their coin. Challenge coins
are meant to heighten excitement and to foster “esprit de
corps”.
Basically, a “coin check” consists of “a challenge” and “a response”. Anyone having a personalized Battalion coin may
“challenge” colleagues by raising his coin in the air or by tapping it on a bar or table. The expected “response” consists in
drawing their personal coin in a similar manner. If they are
unable to properly respond, they must buy a round of drinks
for the challenger and the group being challenged. On the
other hand, if everyone produces his coin within 20
seconds, the challenger is to buy a round of
drinks for all people he challenged. Once
“the offender” has bought the drink or
round, he can’t be challenged again.
It is a fraternal game among soldiers
to build camaraderie and promote
integration.
Being a Battalion coin holder is
considered to be a great honour, let’s keep it that way. The
coin is a reminder, it is also a
kind of membership card.
One feature of challenge
coins is that it takes a conscious effort to carry it at all
times. In a nutshell… never be
caught without your ID, like the
pilot in the legend !!!
SPEEcH OF
BATTALION
cOMMANDER
‘Fellow officers, NCOs, soldiers and civilians of the Support Battalion,
It is really a great pleasure and honour for me, especially in presence of the Eurocorps Commanding General
and Chief of Staff, to present to you our Battalion coin. I do
hope all of us will proudly display it in the years to come. I
shall call it a memorable event in the history of our Battalion.’
training in andermatt
Lieutenant Andreas HOFER
HQ Spt Bn S4/TO
(Deputy Course Director Summer Training)
for the first time in eurocorps’ history some 80
soldiers of the headquarters support battalion
but also from the headquarters had the possibility to join a mountain training in andermatt,
switzerland.
Under the lead of HQSptBn S3Trg and planned by
the Sports cell NCO, three detachments were trained
between 27th July and 14th August 2009. This training has as primary task to strengthen the physical
and mental condition of every participant but also
to build and improve the group’s dynamism.
A physically heavy mountain climbing program had
to be executed: Starting with adaptation walks first in
the Andermatt region and then in the Lago Maggiore
area, all the participants faced more difficult challenges during the next days like marching on the Via
Ferrata Diavolo (“devil´s path”) and climbing to the
top of the 3068 meters high “Großes Lekihorn”
(“Great Leki Horn”).
Thanks to the instructors team (OR-8 Verstraeten,
OR-8 Vansteene, OR-7 Lazaro, OR-8 Herrero), the
detachments learned all necessary basic skills like
walking on snow and on glacier ice. Except for some
sunburn, this training period reached its goals and
the participants returned home with a lot of positive
impressions..
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Some Visits/ Events
2009-09-04
change of command at the multinational command support brigade
strasbourg (france)
2009-09-21
new command group at hq eurocorps
strasbourg (france)
2009-09-25
change of command at hq eurocorps
strasbourg (france)
EUROCORPS
2009-09-30
german oktoberfest
strasbourg (france)
2009-10-02
eurocorps celebrates the spanish and
german national days
strasbourg (france)
2009-10-20
nrf15 lcc commanders conference
strasbourg (france)
26
Some Visits/Events
2009-11-07
visit of former
eurocorps personnel
including lieutenant
general helmut willman
strasbourg (france)
2009-11-02
french-german commemoration ceremony
baden-baden (germany)
2009-12-05
eurocorps detachment at wreath laying ceremony for
the french fallen soldiers of the war in algeria and the
combats in morocco and tunisia
strasbourg (france)
2009-12-03
eurocorps common committee meeting in luxembourg
2009-12-09
saint nicolas party
strasbourg (france)
2009-12-07
christmas tree lighting
strasbourg (france)
2009-12-16
commendation ceremony
strasbourg (france)
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