Manfred-Wörner Seminar Visits JFC Brunssum

Brunssum, Netherlands – 12 June; More than 30 American and German participants and staff members taking part in the 2017 Manfred Wörner Seminar visited JFC Brunssum to gain a greater understanding of NATO and, in particular, the role and responsibilities of the headquarters. The group received a sequence of briefings from key staff members with a focus on NATO’s eastern flank and the so-called Enhanced Forward Presence in that area.    Colonel David Dinger, the JFC Brunssum Strategic Communications Advisor, provided a detailed synopsis of the headquarters’ tasks as an operational headquarters, underlining JFC Brunssum’s role as the enabling Headquarters for NATO’s Resolute Support mission, in Afghanistan, and the evolution/status of the NATO Response Force.

Historical note: The Manfred-Wörner Seminar has its origin in the military training of German pilots in the United States. They developed a network of professional friendships irrespective of distances and helped to strengthen German-American relations over the years. The former German Minister of Defence and later Secretary General of NATO, Manfred Wörner, institutionalized the idea and created the "Seminar for German-American Understanding” in 1982. He wanted to foster the development of a transatlantic network beyond the military.

Story by JFC Brunssum Public Affairs Office