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Doctrine and Concepts meet Corps Level Reality

On March 25, a delegation representing the CIMIC branch (G9) of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) led by Colonel Rienk Sijbrandi was paying a visit to the Civil-Military Cooperation Centre of Excellence (CCOE) in The Hague, The Netherlands.

Colonel Henk Paape, the Deputy Director of the CCOE, took the floor and welcomed the ARRC team for an exchange along the lines of current developments represented by four different topics.

· What are the major implications arriving from the coming NATO CIMIC doctrine (AJP 3.19)?

· What is the role of NATO CIMIC within NATO’s concept for deterrence and defence of the Euro Atlantic Area (DDA)?

· What is or should be the overlap between Human Security and NATO CIMIC?

· What can NATO CIMIC learn from the conflicts in Ukraine and Palestine (Gaza)?

This exchange format was intentionally chosen to allow the two entities involved to mirror the doctrinal view provided by the CCOE experts with the operational reality at corps level represented by the different sections of ARRC G9.

Next to the intense exchange of knowledge, it was a pleasure to see, how fast the ARRC G9 team was able to embrace and adopt the latest doctrinal developments, translating those into their mission statement and organisational structure. In return, the CCOE team left the meeting table with the confidence at hand that their efforts undertaken to modernise and harmonise  the doctrinal framework of CIMIC is paying back and is of help to the headquarters and units involved in CIMIC.

Proving the concept right, the exchange format allowed for visiting  perspectives, managing expectations and encourages for a more frequent exchange with headquarters and units representing the NATO Force Structure, such as the ARRC.

Picture: PAO CCOE