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24 June 2015

Functional Specialist – CIMIC assessment with Functional Aspects

This year, from June 15th to June 19th 2015, the second NATO CIMIC Functional Specialist Course took place at the CCOE. Functional specialist are experts in their civilian area of expertise. They contribute to the military decision process (DMP) preparing the CIMIC assessments from functional aspects, establishing the civil situation picture and giving functional advice to the commander.

13 Students from various nations (Bosnia and Herzegovina, The Netherlands, and Ukraine) participated in the course. The majority of the participants were members of the Dutch 1 Civil Military Interaction Command. The course was supported by syndicate coaches from Germany, The Netherlands, Portugal, and Slovenia. The knowledge, experience, and expertise of the coaches contributed to the success of the course.

Guest lectures from the International Committee of the Red Cross, Johanniter, and Catholic Organization for Relief and Development Aid gave the students insights into the civil dimension of CIMIC. The students also acquired new knowledge in Communication and Negotiation Skills. The theoretical part of the course was concluded by a mission experience brief. One of the students, who recently completed his mission in Mali, shared his experience with the participants of the course.

The practical work of the course focused on the preparation of a CIMIC assessment which was guided by the course staff. The course concluded with the highlight of the course, namely, an update brief to the commander.

WP_20150618_15_46_26_Pro (2)After completing this course, the students are able to understand the implications of their work for the CIMIC environment. Additionally they understand the contribution of CIMIC to the overall military mission, they recognize CIMIC as a vital part of a comprehensive approach in mission areas.

The next NATO CIMIC Functional Specialist Course will take place from 31 August to 04 September 2015 at the CCOE in The Hague. See the course-schedule here.

This article is written by Major Ludvik Ozvald, CCOE, T&E Branch.