LANDCOM to Assume a Key Role in CREVAL Program in 2015

Defence Turkey: You are assigned as the Commander of NATO LANDCOM in Izmir. First of all we would like to congratulate you in your new mission.  Could you please inform us about the vision, mission and structure of NATO LANDCOM?

Thank you.  I see Allied Land Command’s mission as 2-fold.  In crisis, this command is prepared to provide mission command of NATO Land Forces in support of the Joint Force Commands to accomplish the Allied level of ambition.  In peace, this command provides land expertise in support of Alliance Land Forces’ capabilities, readiness, interoperability and standardization.  The bottom-line is that we are focusing all our energy and effort to ensure NATO Land Forces are effective, interoperable and successful in full spectrum operations at all levels.

Defence Turkey: You’ve been here in Izmir for couple of months. How is your first impression about the Headquarters and Izmir?

It’s a really pleasure for my family to be here in Izmir and being  a part of NATO’s Allied Land Command. This is a critical important mission.  We live in Turkey, we work in Turkey. We are responsible for the entire Alliance of 28 nations. So, I travelled quite a bit, visiting the Land Forces of the NATO. But so far, this has been a tremendous experience. We especially appreciate the remarkable support that we get from Turkey for NATO Headquarters here. The majority of our personnel on this base are Turkish, we’ve received great support in the local headquarters and support group. Much of our budget is provided by the host nation. And the quality of the personnel in the Headquarters is absolutely superb.

DefenceTurkey: Could you please inform us about the activities, operations and programs of LANDCOM? What are priority fields of your activities? What is the role of Partner Nations in these activities operations?

On any given day, at least a third of our assigned personnel are on temporary duty, dispersed across Europe, engaged in LANDCOM’s three lines of operations:  Land Forces Operational Capability, LANDCOM Headquarters Operational Readiness, and Land Forces Advocacy.

In 2015, LANDCOM will be focused on our key role in NATO’s Combat Readiness Evaluation (CREVAL) program, where this command is responsible to insure the same basic areas and evaluation methodology are used for all types of NATO Land Forces. At the national level, LANDCOM will monitor 19 national evaluations involving more than 40 members of our staff.  And we will conduct 2 corps headquarters level evaluations.  Those headquarters are NATO Rapid Deployment Corps Spain (NRDC ESP) and NATO Rapid Deployment Corps Greece (NRDC GRC), in which each will be supported by a 45 personnel LANDCOM evaluation team).

Another major activity will be oversight for the Land operations training in Trident Juncture 2015 (TRJE15).  This will be a showcase for NATO on the world stage.  It will take place from 28 September to 06 November in multiple locations across the Alliance including Italy, Portugal and Spain.  Over 25,000 troops are expected to participate, with the purpose to train and test the NATO Response Force, a high readiness and technologically advanced force comprising of land, air, maritime and special forces units capable of being deployed quickly on operations wherever needed.  The exercise represents the final step in the certification process for the command and control elements of the NATO Response Force (NRF) for 2016 where Joint Force Command (JFC) Brunssum will be the on-call Standby Command.  The exercise will also allow Allies and partners the occasion to train, deploy and exercise in a complex and distributed environment.

Defence Turkey: Turkey is one of the strong members of NATO. How do you assess Turkey’s position in LANDCOM operations?

Since 1952, Turkey has stood as a staunch member of NATO, with its military as one of the largest contributors in the Alliance.  NATO, and specifically LANDCOM, leadership considers Turkish participation in all activities as equals. The Turkish military has continuously shown its ability to take a lead in alliance missions (i.e.: ISAF, Multination Task Force South [Kosovo 2007]) and in key roles throughout this command.

Thank you very much for joining us here in NATO. We are very proud to be living in Turkey and that’d be in partnership with the Turkish Armed Forces. They’re inviting members of the Alliance and each and every day it is a pleasure to work with Turkish colleagues.