NAPLES, Italy – Allied Command Operation (ACO), in collaboration with Joint Force Command Naples (JFCNP), hosted a Building Integrity in Operations seminar in Naples, Italy, Feb. 7-9.
This was the first seminar since the Warsaw Summit with the Head of State and Governments endorsing, in July 2016, the NATO BI Policy and the BI Action Plan (one of the summit follow-on-actions). The purpose of the seminar was to develop concrete tools for BI Subject Matter Experts to incorporate corruption issues into all phases of NATO military operations. The need related to the complexity of the military role within BI and the impact of corruption in military operations, both in terms of NATO-led operations and institutional capacity building.
Italian Army Lt. Gen. Luciano Portolano, JFCNP Chief of Staff, opened the seminar speaking about the importance of BI to military operations and JFCNP’s commitment to BI.
"There is a need to introduce and integrate BI concepts into the core business of NATO military operations throughout each phase of the operational planning process and at all levels of NATO. The operational level is likely to be key, as it is where strategic direction from above and operational implementation converge," said Portolano. "The next step will be to establish the mechanism for countering corruption risks that arise during operations, especially by making and sustaining changes that will produce long term benefits. As I am sure many will agree, military operations and political institutions must enhance common understanding via a collective analysis of the available information. JFCNP leadership recognizes the importance of understanding the operating environment, including the existence of corruption, when planning and executing NATO operations.”
Distinguished visitors included Mrs. Susan Pond, Senior Officer Building Integrity Programme, Lt. Gen. Hugues Delort-Laval, SHAPE Vice COS, Human Resources and Contracting subject matter experts from JFCNP, Kosovo Force-Pristina, NATO HQ Sarajevo, Finance unit of Kabul and a diverse range of stakeholders who provided a focus on understanding, diagnosing and countering the practical aspects of corruption risks in operations, and how to mitigate them within the operational planning process.
The outcome of the seminar will serve as the basis to develop and implement the necessary skills within NATO staff and Partner forces.