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Final Report

Strategic Military Partner Conference2012

“Current & Future Challenges”

18-20 June 2012 | Zagreb Republic of Croatia | Republika Hrvatskawww.act.nato.int | http://arhiva.morh.hr

STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS OF THE SUMMIT | STABILITY AND REGIONAL SECURITY | CONNECTED FORCES INITIATIVE: TRAINING, EXERCISES, AND TECHNOLOGY | FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF PARTNERSHIPS | STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS OF IMPROVEMENTS TO MILITARY EFFICIENCY

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Strategic Military Partner Conference 2012“CURRENT & FUTURE CHALLENGES”Zagreb, Croatia18 – 20 June 2012

analysis reportPrepared by:SPP Strategic Analysis BranchHeadquarters Supreme Allied Commander TransformationNorth Atlantic Treaty Organisation21 June 2012

INTRODUCTION

SMPC is dedicated to offer its target audience, NATO/PfP/MD/ICI senior military leaders at the CHOD level, international organizations, as well as IS/IMS/ACT SMEs, a rare opportunity for frank and open strategic discussion on transformational

issues important both to NATO and its partners. The theme of 2012 Strategic Military Partner Conference (SMPC) was “Current and Future Challenges”, specifically addressing the NATO priorities of Smart Defence, the Connected Forces Initiative (CFI) and the strategic implications from the Chicago Summit. SMPC 2012 was held in Zagreb, Croatia 18-20 June 2012. The success of SMPC can be gauged by its attendance - more than 150 attendees representing 55 nations from NATO, Partnership for Peace (PfP), Mediterranean Dialogue (MD), Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI), European Union representatives and other global partners participated in plenary and syndicate discussions.

The conference endeavoured to advance the NATO Partnership Policy adopted during the April 2011 Berlin Foreign Ministerial meeting. Opening speeches delivered a common theme: in an increasingly demanding security environment, made more complex by global economic austerity, the requirement for the Alliance and its partners to work together is more important than ever. NATO and partners share a common goal of achieving stability and security in a world full of new challenges and threats. Working together with partners, the Alliance can make the most of each nation’s diverse experiences, capabilities, thoughts and ideas of the future. This stronger Alliance will be better situated to address the security challenges that face the global community.

NATO partnership efforts are driven by the Alliance’s interest in multinational solutions to address current and emerging challenges. Multinational approaches are not limited to NATO, but include all international communities that share fundamental values and security interests. Emphasis must be placed on partnerships that foster effective cooperation while ensuring all parties make the most of existing opportunities. The Connected Forces Initiative (CFI) seeks to maintain partner cooperation and interoperability during expected lower operational tempo periods in the future. Increasing partner involvement in training, education and exercises improves interoperability. CFI, in combination with Smart Defence, presents promising opportunities for cooperation.

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The Smart Defence initiative is one of NATO’s responses to current economic and budgetary challenges. Modern, challenging threats affect all states and regions, driving requirements for greater future cooperation during design, planning and implementation of security and defence policies. Much of the Smart Defence initiative is based on the conviction that by working together, NATO and partners alike can achieve defence ambitions that are mutually beneficial.

Day One plenary sessions expanded upon themes of increasing partner involvement. Three syndicate sessions were then held to discuss the Future Development of Partnerships, Partner Education and Training, and Improvements to Military Energy Efficiency. The groups’ composition was based on geographical criteria, which enabled each one to focus on specific issues and concerns. One group held a majority of Russian-speaking delegates, one was dominated by West European partner nations and global partners, and one included representatives from MD and ICI nations.

I. PLENARY SESSIONSI-a. Delivering Chicago – Strategic Implications of the Summit - Assistant Secretary General for Defence Policy and Planning, Ambassador Hüseyin Diriöz; Deputy Chairman of the Military Committee, Lieutenant General Walter Gaskin; Chairman of the European Union Military Committee, General Håkan SyrénThe transition to post-2014 Afghanistan is full of challenges. The Chicago Summit underscored the commitment of NATO and partners to continue to provide political and practical support through funding, training and providing assistance to the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) through 2020. Afghanistan continues to be NATO’s top priority. NATO has committed 4.1 billion USD per year to allow the ANSF the time necessary to transition to a professional army. Efforts must be made to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a safe haven for terrorism again; this is key to supporting global security.

The North Atlantic Council (NAC) Initiating Directive will delineate the right balance of forces and capabilities for post-2014 efforts and will provide clarity for partners to assist with the transition phase.

The Alliance and its partners must address emerging threats, such as: proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, energy security, global environment and cyber issues in close connection with other key organizations (i.e. EU and UN). This requires re-investing operational tempo funds into education, training and joint operations. Cooperative security is one of the core aspects of the Strategic Concept and one of NATO’s three core missions. Partners must be included during the decision making process. To do so, an architecture for ‘modalities’ is required that will ensure interoperability to meet NATO’s Level of Ambition in a close connection with its partners.

The United States is shifting its focus to Asia-Pacific and away from Europe. Accordingly, to balance contributions within the Alliance, European countries must increase their investment in regional security to ensure they are not only security consumers, but also security producers. European Union nations need to work together to seek paths around common challenges. NATO Forces 2020, Smart Defence, and the Connected Forces Initiative require modalities to ensure this burden shift will work. This requires a change in mindset at both political and military levels. Tier One Projects, Air-to-Air refueling, Maritime Surveillance Program, and the Counter-IED initiatives are examples of coordination amongst European nations. Strategic communication with political and military authorities will be key to gaining the public’s commitment to global security.

I-b. Stability and Regional Security in the Middle East, North Africa & the Gulf Region – Section Head, Energy Security Section ESCD, Mr. Michael RühleNATO’s Partnership Policy was designed to make dialogue and cooperation more inclusive, flexible, meaningful and strategically oriented, and streamline partnership tools. However, this has not yet occurred, as the modifications have proved difficult to implement. For example, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Declaration that many expected at the Chicago Summit did not materialize.

There are several reasons for the delayed implementation of the initiatives linked to the MENA Partnerships. These include the financial squeeze both on the Alliance and partners, lack of consolidation in NATO, and indecision on NATO’s role in MENA. Additionally, there is the difficult balancing act for NATO of offering advice without being perceived as imposing institutional ideas or even interfering in the internal affairs of its partners. Additionally, tense bilateral relations between some

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countries have consequences for the Alliance as a whole. These, however, are not insurmountable obstacles.

Once the current challenges are resolved, the gap between partners’ expectations and NATO’s delivery will be overcome and partnerships will emerge even stronger. The potential of the MD and the ICI is far from exhausted. Although these partnerships have developed more slowly than PfP, it is evident that they have evolved and are much more than dialogues. Partnerships in the MENA region receive more high-level interest, featuring a growing number of military activities, and reflect an increasing interdependence of Allies and partners.

Partners and the Alliance alike shape regional context and are indispensable for achieving success in virtually all of NATO’s operations. Thereby, ensuring and enhancing the security for both NATO and its partners. Through MD and ICI, NATO can contribute to the positive evolution of its strategic neighbourhood. Partners, in turn, can influence NATO’s policies to be more in line with their own interests.

I-c. Connected Forces Initiative; Education and Training, Exercises & Industry-Integrated Project Teams Director Brigadier, General Roy Hunstock; Deputy Chief of Staff Joint Force Trainer, Lieutenant General Karlheinz Viereck; Deputy Chief of Staff Military Cooperation Division, Major General Sandor FucskuThe Connected Forces Initiative (CFI) focuses on increasing partner involvement in training, education and exercises to improve interoperability and working relationships between Allies and partners achieved as a result of NATO’s recent operations. This is particularly important as the Alliance’s operational tempo decreases and many nations continue to reduce their forces and capabilities. In addition, CFI aims to overcome issues with training integration; partners are not aligned with NATO processes and the Alliance is not looking forward with a broad enough perspective. The status quo affects NATO’s credibility to deliver meaningful education and training to members and partners alike.

The three key means to achieve force connectivity are the ability to communicate, repeated practice in working together, and validation of effort through standardisation of skills and certification of results. To address these requirements (communicate, practice and validate), the CFI includes three inter-related elements:

expanded education and training, increased exercises, and improved use of technology.

ACT leads the Education & Training (E&T) effort. The New Education and Training plan will facilitate a new, agile, and flexible environment, enhanced combat effectiveness, and a focused approach reflecting transparency, real-time awareness, simplicity and affordability. It takes into account the present best practices and will prepare the NATO Command Structure (NCS) and the NATO Force Structure (NFS) for the post-Afghanistan era. The new NATO E&T structure will be able to match requirements with the available resources and opportunities better than previous structures, avoiding duplication while ensuring quality and prioritisation when filling training gaps. These efforts will enhance unity of education and training, and increase quality, even within the current funding levels. Despite limited E&T resources, improvements can be achieved by basing requirements on common standards and by coordinating nation and partner resources when and where it makes sense.

The ongoing transformation of NATO E&T will facilitate partner parity, with the intention to integrate partners in the E&T system while facilitating partner participation in exercises. There is a broad spectrum of partner activities and participation is dependent on the level of ambition of individual partners. NATO recognizes the need for partners in future missions, and partner requirements must be incorporated into education and training.

II. SYNDICATE SESSIONSII-a. Future Development of PartnershipsThe Chicago Summit provided guidance for the Alliance to continue development of its political and practical cooperation with partners. Identifying how to best involve partners in the Smart Defence and the CFI is one of the main challenges. Discussions focused on the inclusion of partners in the Smart Defence initiative. Partners expressed their expectation for NATO to provide stronger leadership in Smart Defence and emphasized the importance of partner access to Smart Defence projects and initiatives. NATO’s role as a facilitator and clearinghouse of projects was emphasized. NATO nations provide leadership rather than NATO taking the lead on projects. Partners and lead nations were advised to engage in developing a capability under the banner of Smart Defence. This is an area of opportunity for NATO to accelerate Smart Defence

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and facilitate increased partner engagement in NATO capability development initiatives simultaneously.

Communication and awareness are core attributes of partnership. Therefore, engaging partners in strategic and functional meetings/conferences throughout the year enables understanding of projects available for collaborative and cooperative development. Likewise, these venues can be ideal for promoting new projects of interest. Beneficial conferences include the NATO Network Enabled Capability Conference, the SMPC, and the Chiefs of Transformation Conference (COTC). In 2012, in addition to the NATO Chiefs of Transformation Roundtable gathering, a separate Partnership Roundtable will be organized. Each of these events provides opportunities for partners to contribute ideas, lessons learned, and expertise in an open forum.

Partners and NATO benefit from many Education and Training (E&T) events that are offered throughout the year. The Military Cooperation Division (MCD) encourages partners to participate in planning meetings and conferences designed to determine the program and schedule of E&T events for the following year. Such events improve awareness of NATO concepts and capabilities while allowing NATO to better understand partner concepts, capabilities, and current/planned contributions. With greater contribution from partners in the requirements collection and planning phases, the education and training offered can be targeted towards individual partner needs. Consistent with the take away from Chicago, ACT emphasized partner participation in training exercises to maintain or re-establish interoperability while operations in Afghanistan draw down.

The adoption of the Berlin Package created great expectations; delays in the implementation have fuelled disappointment among partners. They expressed concern about the current blockage of the out-of-cycle Partnership Cooperation Menu (PCM). The impact of this situation was emphasized: projects and initiatives have been stalled such as partner contributions to NRF rotations or mission training. This issue needs to be solved at the political level to preserve NATO’s credibility regarding its partnership policy.

Partners appreciate the unique network of partnerships NATO has established in the last two decades and emphasized the PfP framework as a collective achievement. Such a diverse range of partners have led to partnerships progressing at appropriate paces aligned with respective Levels of Ambition. While the Berlin Package aims at streamlining and harmonizing the partnership tools, some delegates believe that

operational contributions are more appreciated and acknowledged by the Alliance. Delegates recognized that shifting from regional to functional partnerships built on the 28+n format will take time. Lessons learned from previous partnership initiatives must be taken into account to develop the NATO’s Partnership Policy. For example, building on the feedback from Partnership Staff Elements initiative, only open to PfP partners, the establishment and full staffing of Partnership Staff Posts will allow the development of closer relationships between partner personnel and NATO staff.

II-b. Partner Oriented Education and Training (Training Integration Plan and Programming)

The Partner-Oriented Education & Training Syndicate provided an opportunity for ACT to present details about the new NATO E&T plan, as well as guidance about how partners can more fully participate in training and exercises. The transformation of the NATO E&T plan will facilitate a completely new, more agile and flexible environment, and partners

are encouraged to participate by providing their requirements early in the training planning process and attend the Training Synchronization Conference each year. ACT is dedicated to improving the quality of Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) courses, and will hold course owners responsible for incorporating lessons learned and updating materials.

Significant modifications have also been made to the Education & Training Opportunities Catalogue (ETOC) to better align these courses to the civil education standards recommended in the Bologna Process. Additionally, by 2013, all training requirements for the nearly 9000 posts within NATO will be identified within the system. NATO and Partners will be able to list any of their national training in the catalogue to promote their opportunities for instruction. Any course a nation wants to advertise will be placed in the ETOC. However, only NATO-certified training will be accredited.

II-c. Strategic Implications of Improvements in Military Energy EfficiencyThe discussion on Strategic Implications of Improvements in Military Energy Efficiency provided a political strategic view with a particular focus on where NATO can add value based on the energy security portion of the Chicago Summit declaration.

Smart Energy is a concept that enables the development of solutions to vulnerabilities associated with Alliance energy security. It addresses the operational energy

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needs of the Alliance, key strategic vulnerabilities of oil as the primary feedstock for all military tactical weapons systems, and the key requirement of being a more robust, deployable, and sustainable collective security organization moving towards 2020 and beyond. Technologies that reduce energy consumption through increased military efficiency can help achieve Smart Defence’s objective of literally ‘doing more with less.’

Maintaining an oil-based military fails to address strategic vulnerabilities associated with oil dependence. It can undermine otherwise well-intentioned military energy efficiency initiatives. No matter how successful military energy efficiency is, vulnerabilities can be reduced by a strategic shift away from oil as a feedstock for tactical weapons systems.

Oil price volatility leads to cost-containment vulnerabilities for the Alliance’s military operations and exercises. Reducing fossil fuel consumption would reduce costs, make planning easier and increase availability of scarce funds.

Military forces are increasingly energy intensive and expensive to sustain. Energy consumption and intensiveness of military operations is a key area for exploring how NATO can better provide “more tooth with less tail”. NATO can pool and share capabilities to make sustainment and improvement of the warfighter more cost efficient. Consequently, another Smart Defence project is assessing and then implementing alternative fuels and technologies for generating power for Allied operations.

Many military organizations have already approved oil-alternative fuel blends for tactical weapons systems. Scalability, saleability and sustainability of producing these alternative fuels for military use are lacking. NATO can contribute by scaling-up demand through a Smart Defence-Smart Energy initiative, encouraging fuel blend use based on the interoperability concept.

Economic austerity may require a re-visit of NATO’s “way of war” as current practice may be too oriented towards employing overwhelming force. The challenge is that military effectiveness is directly linked to energy use. There is also a risk of misunderstanding that NATO may be using “energy security” to ensure supply security by military means. Additionally, a mindset that equates “energy efficiency” of equipment with diminished military effectiveness will need to be overcome. The Alliance must work towards significantly improving the energy efficiency of its military forces, develop competence in supporting the protection of critical energy infrastructure, and develop outreach activities in consultation with partners.

III. SYNDICATE SUMMARY/KEY TAKE-AWAYSFuture Development of Partnerships• The Smart Defence and Connected Forces initiatives can shape interaction between NATO and its partners in the years to come. To benefit from partner participation, a common method of identifying opportunities for cooperation is required.

• Partners need to be aware of, and exploit fully, the whole spectrum of cooperation opportunities that are available to them, especially regarding education and training. A successful partnership is a two-way process, based on regular interaction between NATO and partners.

• Partner participation adds value to NATO initiatives. The new Partnership Policy represented an important milestone. The current imperative is the implementation of the recent Summit decisions. The current blockage of the Partnership Cooperation Menu, waiting to be resolved at NATO’s political level, remains the main inhibitor of NATO’s partnership policy.

• The unique and diverse network of partners is a NATO success story. The main challenge, however, for the Alliance will be to foster this complex network, balancing and accommodating the different priorities and expectations from established and new partners.

Partner Orientated Education &Training• NATO continues to seek partner contributions to E&T and will provide partners complete access to the new Training Management System.

• Partners can and will play a major role in the provision of E&T, and NATO can assist partners in building the needed capabilities.

• Additional communication and marketing of training and exercise opportunities is needed in order to have more nations understand what is available and how they can participate.

• Written guidance explaining the process, requirements, and timelines should be promulgated.

Military Energy Efficiency• There is significant benefit to be gained by enhancing energy efficiency of forces.

• The dependency upon 100% fossil fuel was

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identified as a strategic vulnerability for Alliance and partners.

• Current economic austerity encourages multinational approaches to achieve energy efficiencies and focus on Smart Energy.

• Energy efficiency is a part of Smart Defence. Operational energy consideration should be integrated at all levels but especially the planning and acquisitions phase. Integration of Smart Energy within NATO Defence Planning Process will put energy saving as a requirement into the design phase of military equipment

• Smart Energy can be implemented at all levels from operations to training. Changes in energy usage procedures are options to reduce the dependency on fossil fuels.

IV. CONCLUDING REMARKSThe theme of SMPC 2012, ‘Current and Future Challenges,’ emphasized the demands that a fast-changing security environment has placed on NATO. The common thread running from Lisbon to Chicago Summits, and beyond, is that current and future challenges affect both the Alliance and a wide community of nations. Its acceptance has been proved by the degree of initiatives partner nations have taken to assist NATO move forward, especially in the partnership being built with Afghanistan. Commitment, cooperation, interoperability, and mutual consultation are required to achieve NATO objectives. ACT efforts aim to maintain and bolster interoperability.

SMPC 2012 discussed the tools that can help make the most of opportunities in the future. Smart Defence and the Connected Forces Initiative offer a basis upon which to further enhance NATO partnerships, investigate better ways of collaboration, and increase bilateral and mutual endeavours.

The Operational Capabilities Concept and Partnership Staff Element Concept are key Military Cooperation tools, enforcing enhanced interoperability with partners and contributing to the successful inclusion of partners in CFI and SD. However, work remains to be done. Partners emphasized the importance of resolving the PCM blockage and eliminating the current tension between reality and partnership ambitions in order to maintain and further develop the current level of military cooperation with NATO.

Additionally, syndicate discussions underscored the major role played by Partners in the provision of NATO education and training. NATO will continue to help partners build their own capabilities.

V. CONCLUSIONSThe SMPC proved to be a successful and useful conference. Both the formal and informal parts of the event met their aim, with the informal aspect particularly achieving success in building personal relationships among partners and Allies. Plenary sessions were not as dynamic as expected, likely due to SMPC being held only a month after the Summit, and thus leaving little time for NATO to develop the new partnership policy implementation plans, but they still drew the required attention to the most important aspects of partnership issues and fostered discussion during subsequent syndicate sessions.

SMPC was designed to help partners, especially MD, ICI and Contact Countries, gain a broader understanding of the opportunities, challenges and advantages in increasing operational cooperation and to improve operational capabilities and interoperability. However, Partners’ expectations regarding cooperation with NATO vary: they look to NATO for expertise on security sector reform, defence transformation, defence planning, budgeting, etc. However, those partners that have a close relationship with the Alliance and support NATO also in operations rightly worry in light of the current PCM blockage situation. Australia for example, expressed its concerns that they do not get enough say when an operation in ongoing, although they are one of the biggest troop contributors. The Alliance must realize that it will only be able to face global challenges with global partners. As emphasized in Chicago, due to the predicted end of current NATO operations, it is crucial to at least maintain interoperability between NATO and partners through regular exchanges of information, education, training and exercises. To achieve this, NATO and partners must adhere to the pillars of Commitment, Cooperation, Interoperability, Consultation and Focus as follows:

• Commitment: to Afghanistan beyond 2014 and the ISAF mission; to NATO partners and their sacrifices in NATO’s operations; to continued cooperation with partners after the operational drawdown.

• Cooperation: with partners in dealing with current and future security challenges; in dealing with declining defence budgets through new, innovative ways of developing capabilities.

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• Interoperability: both within the Alliance and with partners using initiatives, like Smart Defence and the Connected Forces Initiative, to maintain the level of engagement that NATO and partners have built over the past two decades.

• Consultation: information pooling and sharing to deal with defence reform, restructuring armed forces, and downsizing - so NATO will still be able to fulfil its core tasks, and work with partners in maintaining international peace and security.

• Focus on partners: while the initiatives are driven by Nations (EU and NATO), they have to overcome traditional national reservations to make them successful. A clear focus on partners and their involvement in these initiatives is crucial. The Alliance needs to focus on implementation; NATO must turn words into action.

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Partnership is more than solving puzzles.It’s about creating shared context, mitigating mutual risks, and building trust in a time when working with others needs to be the core of everyone’s business, not the periphery.

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