Brunssum, The Netherlands – On Tuesday, 04 June 2024, some 140 students from the Swedish Military Academy in Halmstad visited Headquarters JFC Brunssum as part of their course. The students are Senior Non-Commissioned Officers (NCO) of all branches of the Swedish Armed Forces, who attend the academy in order to prepare themselves for taking on key leadership roles within the ranks of the Swedish military.
These Senior NCOs will have a role model function for all other ranks not only in their own military
The visit to an operational NATO HQ like JFC Brunssum is an integral part of their training. It serves to familiarise the students with NATO’s strategic and operational level organisation and functions, and deepens their understanding of how the Alliance is ensuring interoperability and conducts multi-domain operations (land, sea, air, space and cyberspace). An introduction in the roles and responsibilities of the Joint Logistic Support Group (JLSG) provided the students insight in the logistical system of NATO.
Another focus of the briefings they receive was the roles and responsibilities Senior NCOs assume in NATO postings, and operational planning from a practitioner’s perspective. The latter was provided by HQ JFC Brunssum’s Acting Command Senior Enlisted Leader (CSEL), Warrant Officer Jan Erpeka from the Royal Netherlands Army. WO Erpeka: “These Senior NCOs will have a role model function for all other ranks not only in their own military. That’s why it’s so important for them to have a solemn understanding of the way NATO is organised and operates.”
Before coming to JFC Brunssum, the students already visited NATO Headquarters in Brussels and SHAPE in Mons. As the last event of the trip, they completed a battlefield study that, among historical aspects, focussed on decision-making, interoperability, maintenance, and collective training.