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…

In both my U.S. European Command and my NATO “hats,” I spend a great deal of time focusing on the challenges in Afghanistan.

We’ve just seen the Afghan people complete the first round of the Presidential election. President Obama said, “”This was an important step forward in the Afghan people’s efforts to take control of their future, even as violent extremists are trying to stand in their way.” He went on to say, “We look forward to renewing our partnership with the Afghan people as they move ahead under a new government.”

Yet the situation is extremely serious. While I remain convinced that the Coalition, working with the Afghan people, will ultimately win in Afghanistan – the stakes are high – the situation is extremely challenging. The NATO Secretary General recently said, “NATO – by which I mean both sides of the Atlantic — will do its full part, but we can’t do it alone. This has to be an international team effort, military and civilian – with more effort from the Afghans themselves as well….It will not be easy, and the past month has made that bitterly clear. But it can be done. And we will do it. Let there be no doubt about that.”

After two trips to Afghanistan in the last couple of months, many hours of conversation with our superb NATO and U.S. commander there, General Stan McChrystal, discussions with academics, experts, and historians, I agree the situation is indeed serious. But, it is far from hopeless, and what we do over the next year or so will set the course. more…

 I started last week in Lisbon, on the heels of a trip to Stuttgart the previous Friday for staff briefings at European Command (EUCOM) and EUCOM’s Annual Summer Reception, which included a spectacular concert with an Elvis Presley impersonator in full U.S. Army regalia! 

I was in Lisbon for a significant event: the change of command of the major NATO Headquarters there, where a senior French officer took command of a key NATO military post.  I was very proud to officiate and speak, along with the Portuguese Minister of Defence, Nuno Severiano Teixeira, as Lieutenant General Phillipe Stoltz, a French Army 3-star, proudly took command.  Over some good Portuguese wine in the officer’s mess later, I was able to personally welcome Phillipe.  I said, “C’est un jour important pour France, mais c’est un jour magnifique pour notre l’Alliance.” (It is an important day for France, but it is a magnificent day for our alliance).   I also visited an innovative organization: the Maritime Analysis and Operations Center.  This small group with representatives from seven European nations is focused on counter-narcotics from their operations center in Lisbon.   Comparable to the U.S. Joint Interagency Task Force South in Key West (with whom they frequently collaborate), they seek to coordinate the law enforcement efforts of European nations to stem the flow of into the continent drugs (estimated by JIATFS to be in the region of 550+ tons of cocaine annually, for example).  Headed up by an exuberant Brit, Tim Manhire, they have shown much success and I hope to partner with them under my European Command hat in interagency and international counter-narcotic work. more…