After a first introduction to his new job during a visit to SHAPE which included office calls with the ACOS J9 SHAPE and DCOS Partnership directorate, the next visit directly lead him to the CIMIC Centre of Excellence (CCOE) in THE HAGUE. The CCOE is the NATO CIMIC Think Tank and Training Institute for all NATO CIMIC personnel.
The Director of the CCOE, Col van Boxmeer, and his Deputy, Col Miller, took the opportunity to welcome the General in front of the Main Building and start with a short introductory tour through the complex, to allow the visitor to have a better understanding of all the different entities that are currently residing in the barracks.
This was followed by an office call in the director's office to break the ice and have a short personal introduction including the possibility to further adjust the program of the visit, which span over one and a half day, to the needs of the visitor.
Brigadier General Ellermann ACOS J9 Allied Joint Force Command Naples during his visit of the CCOE (CIMIC Centre of Excellence) with the Leadership.
The rest of the morning was filled with introductory briefings about COEs and their role for NATO, the specific role of the CCOE in the NATO CIMIC community, a first introduction to NATO CIMIC terminology and tasks and a deeper look at the schedule for 2021 to highlight important meetings, conferences and seminars that would require the ACOS´s attention.
The branch head of the CONCEPTs, INTEROPRABILITY and CAPABILITIES (CIC) Branch, LTC Mühlich, took the chance for a first deep dive into the role of Custodian for the AJP 3.19 CIMIC, the standardization of CIMIC input in all relevant NATO doctrines, the role as a Think Tank including the related output through publications, the validation of doctrines through exercises and a short outlook on upcoming tasks, that the operational level of NATO might be interested to contribute to.
Brigadier General Ellermann ACOS J9 Allied Joint Force Command and Col van Boxmeer Director of CCOE during meeting at CCOE.
On the next morning the ACOS J9 was welcomed by the branch head of the Training and Education (T&E) Branch, LTC Brouwer, who then explained the role of the CCOE as a NATO accredited training institute for CIMIC and CMI. A special emphasis was put on the role of the Department Head for CIMIC. The Department Head is the responsible entity to provide training and education solutions to fulfil the dedicated NATO training requirements for individuals that serve at NATO entities.
The CIMIC Course landscape was explained and the training continuum up to collective training and exercises and the contribution of the CCOE to that process.
After having a short feedback session with the leadership of the CCOE on the visit, its program and the dedication of the CCOE personnel to fulfil the information requirements of the General, a last session concerning CIMIC Lessons Learned and Analysis (LL&A) was conducted.
Cdr Halfmann, supported by the Deputy Director, gave an overview on the NATO LL process, sources for CIMIC relevant LLs, the role of nations in providing LL from the operations followed by a short introduction on the work currently undertaken in support of CIMIC Analysis and Assessments.
In a short personnel feedback Brigadier General Ellermann thanked all for the effort that was put into this visit and expressed the wish to further deepen the collaboration with the CCOE, the information exchange and to have the possibility to come back and receive further valuable knowledge for his work at JFC NAPLES.