Brunssum, the Netherlands – On 8th and 9th November, Allied Joint Force Command (JFC) Brunssum hosted a Conference of the NATO Chiefs of Defence of countries in JFC Brunssum’s Area of Responsibility.
Change is inevitable, but we must adapt without compromising our core task of collective defence
Commander JFCBS, General Luigi Guglielmo Miglietta, welcomed nearly 30 senior Generals and Admirals together with their delegations from around 20 NATO and Partner Nations. The conference provided a unique opportunity to personally meet and discuss issues vital for the future of the Alliance in JFC Brunssum’s Area of Responsibility (AOR).
As well as Chiefs of Defence or their representatives, delegations attended from NATO Component Commands such as the Land, Air, and Maritime Component Commands (LANDCOM, AIRCOM, MARCOM), as well as from the sister Joint Force Commands of Naples and Norfolk.
During his opening remarks, General Miglietta called the NATO and partner nations represented at this conference “a community at the heart of the defence of Europe.” The participation of so many high ranking military representatives sends “a clear sign we all stand together, in the spirit of good cooperation, and desire to protect our shared values of freedom and democracy. These are the principles of our defensive Alliance, even more so in these stormy times”, the Commander continued.
The aim of the conference is to gather senior NATO military leaders to discuss military planning, intra-Alliance cooperation and – particularly in the light of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine – the way ahead for European NATO nations to take on more responsibility for the defence of the European continent.
Following the NATO summit in Madrid in June of this year and the new Strategic Concept developed for the Alliance, conferences like this serve to translate the principles stipulated in the Concept into operational military planning and activities.
The development of the New Force Model for the Alliance is part of this approach, which focuses on the provision of high readiness NATO troops to deter any aggressor from attacking NATO territory. The New Force Model reinforces the determination of the Alliance to defend every inch of NATO territory.
A special focus is of the new model is on NATO’s Eastern Flank, where another principle of the Alliance – the solidarity of all NATO nations to commit to the defence of each and every member – has already been turned into tangible action. Earlier this year NATO started establishing new enhanced Vigilance Activity (eVA) Battlegroups in Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria (the latter two of which fall within the Area of Responsibility of JFC Naples).
General Miglietta also stressed that NATO continues to evolve. “Change is inevitable, but we must adapt without compromising our core task of collective defence”, he concluded. The top military leadership JFC Brunssum’s Area of Responsibility is ready to face these challenges.