Jan 25 2021

Building NATO Capability in the Black Sea Region

Staff from Headquarters Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (HQ ARRC) have been working with NATO’s newest Corps, Multi-National Corps South East (MNC-SE), to develop defence and deterrence capability in the Black Sea region.

In the latest in a series of engagements between the ARRC and MNC-SE, a week-long academics program demonstrated how multiple nations in the Alliance can support each other and share thinking about how they intend to operate, compete, deter, and fight together. This forms part of persistent engagement efforts around NATO’s boarders, which is a key line of effort for NATO and HQ ARRC.

Our Romanian partners are thinking critically about how they intend to organise and operate as they build their new corps

The program was developed jointly by Romanian staff and U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Arnel David, an army strategist serving at HQ ARRC. He said, "we really went all out as a team to bring in world-class scholars, thought leaders, and military professionals for dynamic and engaging sessions. A number of lectures and interactive discussions drove a rich debate on the balance of art and science in war across all its dimensions. Our Romanian partners are thinking critically about how they intend to organise and operate as they build their new corps.”

Romanian Naval Forces Captain Liviu Strambeanu, the MNC-SE branch head for Business Information Management, said the event exceeded his expectations and provided an opportunity to interact and share thinking on important issues of benefit to both headquarters.

Being a learning organisation not only drives your development, but supports your aim to become an adaptable organisation

“As our organisation develops, being a regional corps HQ, it has to look not only in the land domain, but has to look on all the other operational domains,” Strambeanu said. “I appreciate very much the level of interactivity and exchange of ideas. This supports our efforts to become a learning organisation, because being a learning organisation not only drives your development, but supports your aim to become an adaptable organisation."

U.S. Army Brigadier General Matthew Van Wagenen, the ARRC’s Deputy Chief of Staff for operations commended the initiative and said, “this is one of the most intellectually stimulating academic weeks I’ve ever participated in. The real big success was the collaborative work done by multinational break-out groups, which included all ranks, to run through operational design methodology.”

The ARRC will now continue to engage with MNC-SE over the course of 2021, to assist them achieve full operating capability, prepare for participation in a number of exercises and become a hub of NATO activity in the Black Sea region.

Story by Allied Rapid Reaction Corps Public Affairs Office