GRAFENWOEHR, Germany: With twenty-six NATO nations, including the United States, reducing the size of their defense spending and capability, Lt. Gen. Frederick (Ben) Hodges, the commanding general of the Allied Land Command NATO, said that’s more reason to work together.
“Only Poland and Turkey are either maintaining or increasing the amount of their defense spending,” said Hodges, during a recent interview. “That means involvement in coalitions and the alliance becomes even more important for shared resources, shared capacity and cooperation.”
While touring the facilities at Europe’s Joint Multinational Training Command, and Grafenwoehr Training Area, Hodges discussed training objectives and ways the European community, U.S., partners and allies could support NATO. Likewise, Hodges revealed NATO’s plan to conduct certification training for its land operations and crisis response initiative. Beginning in September, with mission command training during Exercise Loyal Lance and culminating in December with Exercise Trident Lance; Hodges said it’s about transparency, information sharing, conserving resources, and connecting disparate NATO capabilities to ensure efficient and effective partnerships.
… Hodges plans to invite key leaders, stakeholders and interested parties from the 18 NATO Centres of Excellence…
“What’s most important is that, within their capability, the member nations of NATO continue to provide modern military capabilities,” he said in his May 2013 interview with Army magazine. “This was evident in Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya. There are other ways in which nations contribute that matter besides percentage of GDP (gross domestic product) that also count.”
Hodges said by bringing the capabilities of the Joint Force Training Center in Dydgoszcz, Poland, and the Joint Warfighting Center in Stavanger, Norway, together with those of the U.S. Army’s Joint Multinational Training Command is one way to resolve system failures and miscommunication.
He said Germany’s simulation center in Wildflecken successfully used NATO Mission networks. He suggested partnering between the U.S. simulation center and German simulation center for the upcoming exercise as a solution to meet challenges.
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