I’ve just returned from Bratislava, Slovakia where the NATO Fall ‘09 Defense Ministerial was held, followed by an official visit to Slovakian senior defense leaders.

The Defense Ministerial is a chance for all 28 of the NATO Defense leaders (Ministers and Secretaries of Defense) to gather in a plenary session for a couple of days and discuss key issues.  Our new Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, led the event.
Bratislava is Slovakia’s historic capital perched on the Danube River. The city of a half-million in a country of some five million is full of lovely classic European architecture and within a few minutes drive from  the Tatra mountain range and hundreds of medieval castles and historic villages, some of them declared UN world heritage sites.

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I’m flying over western Afghanistan at 35,000 feet, just heading out of the country. We’re passing over the Caspian Sea and soon will be over the Caucuses.  This is a complicated part of the world.

In three busy days in Afghanistan, I focused on Helmand province and the British and U.S. Marine Corps forces. Over the course of lunch with the provincial Governor – a man in his early 60s and a survivor of many challenging events in Afghanistan – I talked with him about the needs of the district.

“First is security,” he said. “It is the mother of all development.” When I pressed him for what comes next on the list, he said, “Education, health, and electricity.” With us at the table was the leader of a British Provincial Reconstruction Team, a group of civilian aid workers focusing on development. He seconded the view, and spoke about the programs they are putting in place in this agrarian part of Afghanistan where sadly the principal crop is opium poppies.

The conversation reinforced my oft-stated view that in the end we will not deliver security in Afghanistan from the barrel of a gun. We’ll need a few guns along the way, no doubt; but the key is getting the right balance of civilian and military work done in concert together. more…

Lt Gen Richard Shirreff CBE - Commander Allied Rapid Reaction Corps

Since my first blog last month, Headquarters Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (HQ ARRC) has now been alerted by SHAPE to be prepared for operations in Afghanistan as the core of the soon to be established ISAF Joint Command in Kabul in January 2011 for one year. The separation of 4 star theatre command from 3 star tactical command is good news and offers the opportunity to do what needs to be done properly at the appropriate level of command. In particular, I see the task of a 3 star tactical commander as binding in national contingents to a single, well thought through operational design through firm leadership while sequencing and concentrating scarce resources in order to tee up subordinate formations for success on the battlefield. As a well-trained, cohesive European led Corps HQ with 15 partner nations and a strong US spine as lead of the Operations Division and with multinationality deep in its DNA,  HQ ARRC is particularly well placed to work within a multi-national operation and drive COMISAF’s concept of operations down to the tactical level with the necessary vigour and energy. However, if this partnership is to be fully exploited it requires the best team in the fight now. more…