First NATO Course for Iraq Underway in Norway

STAVANGER, Norway -- Twenty Iraqi security personnel are here at NATO’s Joint Warfare Centre participating in the first training conducted outside of Iraq in support of the training mission announced by the Alliance at the Istanbul Summit in June.

The eight-day course, which started Monday, has been tailored to meet the needs of mid- to high-ranking Iraqi security personnel.

“Our NATO facility is well placed to offer our Iraqi guests training that will be extremely relevant to the challenges and opportunities they face in rebuilding their country’s security institutions,” said the centre’s director, British Army Major-General James Short. The centre specializes in joint headquarters-level training.

The Iraqi participants range from senior military officers to civilian staff with Iraq’s Ministry of Defense and Ministry of the Interior. They were specially selected by Iraqi authorities as “key leaders” from within Iraq’s security forces.

The course focuses on the function of an operational-level headquarters and includes instruction on crisis management, command and control of forces, the operational planning process, and integration of all aspects of civil-military cooperation, including liaison with the UN, Red Cross, and other international organisations.

“Our host nation, Norway, is providing excellent support to this training,” said Major-General Short.

The training will serve as a pilot project for possible follow-on training at the Joint Warfare Centre and back in Iraq. The ultimate aim is to help Iraq develop its own training capability.

Through the NATO Training and Equipment Co-ordination Group, led by NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, the Alliance is co-ordinating Iraqi requests for further training by NATO or other organizations.

The next NATO-led course to be attended by Iraqi security personnel outside their country will be at the NATO School in Germany later this month.