READY FOR TODAY – EVOLVING FOR TOMORROW
Members of the ARRC training team mentor Ukrainian staff officers as part of their syndicate work at the Armed Forces University in Kiev, Ukraine.
The subjects taught were part of a
bespoke syllabus based on the specific
request of the hosts. They included:
NATO
operational-level
planning,
intelligence preparation of the battlefield,
risk management, intelligence fusion,
joint fires and influence, logistics and
operational analysis. Both the students
and the AFU chain of command received
the instruction positively and a request
was made to conduct a second iteration
of the training in the autumn, resulting
in a subsequent deployment in October
2018.
Multinational vs NATO
An important nuance of this task was
that it had to be seen as national-level
engagement and not a ‘NATO’ or ‘ARRC’
deployment. While a UK initiative, other
countries with missions in Ukraine were
welcome to participate. The imperative
nature of this message was reinforced
by the edict that no personnel should
deploy with uniforms that had ARRC or
NATO insignia.
Based upon the prerequisite for existing
national engagement with the AFU,
this opened up participation to a group
known as ‘QUINT +2’, namely the UK,
US, Canada, Lithuania and Poland, with
Denmark and Sweden forming the ‘+2’,
as those countries have expressed an
interest in joining the group. With the
range of countries uniquely represented
in the ARRC, a broadening of the
selection process resulted in the second
STTT rotation including a Canadian and
a Danish officer.
Observations and lessons
identified
The initial impression on how the training
was being received was difficult to gauge
due to the stoic nature of the audience.
However, over the course of the week
such obstacles were broken down
and many of the instructors enjoyed
impassioned and energetic discussions
Figure 2 – Training Programme
ALLIED RAPID REACTION CORPS
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