SKOPJE, The Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia* – The first Regional Collective Training Event Planning Workshop in support of REGEX 19 took place on Sept. 24 to 28 in Skopje.
REGEX is a NATO supported opportunity for partner countries to plan and conduct an exercise from the beginning to the end according to their training requirements. The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has taken the lead for REGEX 19 following Bosnia and Herzegovina (REGEX 16), Jordan (REGEX 17) and Serbia (REGEX 18) as Partner Nations.
The REGEX initiative involves one partner nation inviting neighboring partners to a national exercise, while NATO provides the following support to the exercise planning workshops:
- Training support during the first two planning workshops on NATO Exercise Planning Procedures.
- Subject Matter Expert support and mentoring through all phases of exercise planning and execution.
- Funding support for participants of all workshops, except the Execution Phase, for accommodation, per diem, travel and tuition fee, as these workshops are Partnership Cooperation Menu events.
An Allied Joint Force Command Naples military plans and civil-military cooperation REGEX team, headed by German Army Brigadier General Reinhard Kloss, JFC Naples assistant chief of staff J9, mentored this first Workshop where 35 participants from 17 Partner countries took part. Of note for the first time representatives from African Union attended. A full team of 18 people from the Host Nation also participated.
In his opening addressing to the participants, Kloss thanked the Host Nation for taking the lead on hosting the REGEX 19 and remarked that "the overall goal is to increase Interoperability with NATO and create trust among all of us”.
Brigadier General Orce Jordev, Joint Operations Command chief of staff, emphasized that "REGEX is the best way of improving our capability and compatibility to work on a multinational environment”.
In what proved to be a fruitful and productive week, the workshop focused on the first two Stages of the Exercise Planning Process, following the premises of the Bi Sc 75-03.
JFC Naples is planning to conduct six more REGEX 19 workshops followed by the Execution Phase in 2019. The REGEX initiative supports NATO objectives by making Partners familiar with NATO procedures by build trust and understanding for better cooperation in the region, and by promoting increased interoperability.
*Turkey recognizes the Republic of Macedonia with its constitutional name
Story by JFC Naples J9 Military Partnership Branch