SVK CHOD attends NATO Military Committee in Chiefs of Defence Session in Brussels
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- Date: 16.05.2018
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Lt Gen Daniel Zmeko attended the regular spring NATO Military Committee in Chiefs of Defence Session (MCCS) in Brussels on 16 May 2018.
The main theme of the meeting was the strategic military aspects relating to the agenda of the forthcoming NATO Summit, to be held on 11-12 July 2018 in Brussels.
In the morning session, the Chiefs of Defence mainly focused on the military aspects of the Alliance’s Projecting Stability Initiative, through which NATO supports NATO partners’ capacity building in the regions of the Near and Middle East and North Africa. Special attention was paid to the preparations for the transformation of NATO’s Training and Capacity Building activity in Iraq (NTCB-I) to a fully fledged NATO mission. On the latter, Lt Gen Daniel Zmeko said: “We give our full support to all initiatives the Alliance leads in an effort to counter the threats arising out of the hybrid activities of state and non-state actors in the South of the Alliance. As one of the significant contributors to NATO’s current activity in Iraq, we welcome the transformation of this activity to a fully fledged training non-combat mission, and we expect that the new NATO training mission in Iraq will contribute to the stabilization of this country, thereby improving the security of our allies and partners in the region and our own security. Once a relevant political decision has been taken, the SVK Armed Forces are ready to continue training selected capabilities of Iraqi Security Forces as part of NATO’s new mission in Iraq.”
Focus of the afternoon session was on strengthening Allied collective defence. The Chiefs of Defence delved into the military strategic aspects of consolidating the defence potential and operational readiness of the NATO military structures. Along with representatives of the EU military bodies, they discussed taking joint action on military mobility. The NATO Strategic Commanders familiarised the CHODs with the NATO Command Structure Adaptation Detailed Implementation Plans. The CHODs also dealt with wider political and military issues of NATO’s long-term transformation, discussed proposals for improving decision-making processes, especially those on generating the military capabilities that are financed from the common NATO budget, as well as addressing military priorities as part of the ongoing preparations for political and institutional adaptation.
In the session of the CHODs from the countries contributing to the Canadian-led eFP BG in Latvia, Lt Gen Zmeko spoke of the readiness of the SVK Armed Forces’mechanised unit to deploy to Latvia. “We are ready to explore further possibilities of contributing to this battlegroup after the fulfilment of our current mandate,” said Lt Gen Zmeko in response to the medium term intentions for the eFP BG in Latvia that the Canadian Chief of the Defence Staff presented on behalf of Canada as the Lead Nation.
Lt Gen Zmeko made the best of his time in the new NATO Headquarters in Brussels and held a series of bilateral meetings with several Chiefs of Defence, to discuss the continuation and deepening of mutual cooperation with other Armed Forces.
The Chiefs of Defence met for the first time in the new NATO Headquarters in Brussels. For Chairman of the NATO Military Committee (CMC) General Petr Pavel, this was the last MCCS. In June 2018, UK Chief of the Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach will succeed General Petr Pavel as CMC.
The next MCCS is due in September 2018 in Warsaw.
The main theme of the meeting was the strategic military aspects relating to the agenda of the forthcoming NATO Summit, to be held on 11-12 July 2018 in Brussels.
In the morning session, the Chiefs of Defence mainly focused on the military aspects of the Alliance’s Projecting Stability Initiative, through which NATO supports NATO partners’ capacity building in the regions of the Near and Middle East and North Africa. Special attention was paid to the preparations for the transformation of NATO’s Training and Capacity Building activity in Iraq (NTCB-I) to a fully fledged NATO mission. On the latter, Lt Gen Daniel Zmeko said: “We give our full support to all initiatives the Alliance leads in an effort to counter the threats arising out of the hybrid activities of state and non-state actors in the South of the Alliance. As one of the significant contributors to NATO’s current activity in Iraq, we welcome the transformation of this activity to a fully fledged training non-combat mission, and we expect that the new NATO training mission in Iraq will contribute to the stabilization of this country, thereby improving the security of our allies and partners in the region and our own security. Once a relevant political decision has been taken, the SVK Armed Forces are ready to continue training selected capabilities of Iraqi Security Forces as part of NATO’s new mission in Iraq.”
Focus of the afternoon session was on strengthening Allied collective defence. The Chiefs of Defence delved into the military strategic aspects of consolidating the defence potential and operational readiness of the NATO military structures. Along with representatives of the EU military bodies, they discussed taking joint action on military mobility. The NATO Strategic Commanders familiarised the CHODs with the NATO Command Structure Adaptation Detailed Implementation Plans. The CHODs also dealt with wider political and military issues of NATO’s long-term transformation, discussed proposals for improving decision-making processes, especially those on generating the military capabilities that are financed from the common NATO budget, as well as addressing military priorities as part of the ongoing preparations for political and institutional adaptation.
In the session of the CHODs from the countries contributing to the Canadian-led eFP BG in Latvia, Lt Gen Zmeko spoke of the readiness of the SVK Armed Forces’mechanised unit to deploy to Latvia. “We are ready to explore further possibilities of contributing to this battlegroup after the fulfilment of our current mandate,” said Lt Gen Zmeko in response to the medium term intentions for the eFP BG in Latvia that the Canadian Chief of the Defence Staff presented on behalf of Canada as the Lead Nation.
Lt Gen Zmeko made the best of his time in the new NATO Headquarters in Brussels and held a series of bilateral meetings with several Chiefs of Defence, to discuss the continuation and deepening of mutual cooperation with other Armed Forces.
The Chiefs of Defence met for the first time in the new NATO Headquarters in Brussels. For Chairman of the NATO Military Committee (CMC) General Petr Pavel, this was the last MCCS. In June 2018, UK Chief of the Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach will succeed General Petr Pavel as CMC.
The next MCCS is due in September 2018 in Warsaw.
