MAJOR PLANNING EXERCISE COLLABORATIVE EFFORT III HAS CONCLUDED

On the 31st of March exercise Collaborative Effort III concluded. The final day of the exercise was used to present the results of two weeks of planning to the Force Commander and to summarize the lessons identified during the exercise.

The Commandant of the Baltic Defence College BrigGen Meelis Kiili attended the decision briefing.

After the briefings Lt.Gen J.Scharling complimented the students on their significant improvement on their level of the involvement into the planning process and the quality of the products presented since the Collaborative Effort I in December.

The exercise concluded with a summary of the lessons identified. The Students of the Joint Command and General Staff Course (JCGSC) noted that the exercise has been a great chance for them to explore the theoretical knowledge acquired during the course. At the same time there were number of concerns and proposals raised to improve the quality of future exercises.

In his closing remarks Exercise Director Colonel K.Ekroll emphasised that Collaborative Effort III was “the most important educational activity in the course”. He acknowledged that the scenario used during the exercise created a very complex, difficult and challenging learning environment, but the officers in the course handled the planning process of the peace support operation very well.

Visiting Subject Matter Experts supported the planning exercise extensively and were thanked by the commandant of the Baltic Defence College. Their advice to the students and their support to the directing staff was invaluable. He also expressed his appreciation to the BALTDEFCOL Directive and Support staff for outstanding work to make Collaborative Effort III a success.

After the weekend the officers of the JCGSC will travel to the Sweden and Germany to participate in exercise Viking 2011.