13/02/2014 Sources : EMA

Le 7 février 2014, l’ensemble du détachement Epidote a quitté le camp américain Phoenix pour rejoindre l’aéroport international de Kaboul (KAIA).

Après une dernière levée des couleurs, le colonel Philippe Vervaeke, commandant du détachement Epidote, et le colonel américain Mac Emore ont échangé une poignée de main, marquant le départ définitif des militaires français du camp Phoenix. Ces derniers ont emporté la plaque portant l’inscription « quartier Lafayette », en souvenir du lieu que le détachement occupait depuis 2002.

Ce regroupement des éléments français de la Force Pamir sur l’aéroport international de Kaboul, commandé par le général de division aérienne Olivier Taprest, marque une étape supplémentaire dans le cadre du désengagement de l’armée française en Afghanistan.

Moins de 500 militaires sont désormais chargés de poursuivre l’engagement français jusqu’à la fin de la mission de l’ISAF en 2014, à travers notamment le commandement de l’aéroport de KAIA, le fonctionnement de l’hôpital médico-chirurgical militaire français de KAIA, l’appui à la formation de l’armée nationale afghane, la participation aux fonctions d’état-major dans les structures de l’ISAF et le commandement du laboratoire européen contre-IED.

05-02-2014 SEDE

31/01/2014 Sources : EMA

Le 24 janvier 2014, le lieutenant-général canadien Vance, commandant adjoint du « Allied Force Command » (JFC) de Naples, s’est rendu avec le général italien Farina, commandant de la KFOR, au camp français Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny pour faire un point sur la mission de la KFOR au Kosovo.

Accueilli par le colonel Serge Calas, commandant du contingent français, les officiers ont été sensibilisé sur la situation sécuritaire dans le pays. Grâce à sa police nationale, à la mission européenne EULEX et à la KFOR, le Kosovo tire un bilan positif des élections municipales de décembre 2013. Les tensions entre les populations serbe et albanaise s’apaisent peu à peu. Pour preuve, la disparition progressive de road blocks, notamment sur les axes menant vers le Nord du Kosovo. Cela est interprété comme un signe de stabilisation sécuritaire et territoriale.

Après ce briefing, les officiers généraux Vance et Farina ont inspecté la zone d’entraînement et d’instruction opérationnelle du camp de Novo Selo. Le colonel Calas et le lieutenant-colonel (US) Eric Crider, commandant du FCP (Forward Command Post), ont présenté les mesures en place pour la maîtrise et le traitement des déchets sur le champ de tir.

La KFOR participe au maintien d’un environnement sûr et sécurisé au profit de l’ensemble de la population du Kosovo, en coopération avec la Mission des Nations unies au Kosovo (MINUK) et la mission de l’Union européenne (EULEX). Environ 320 militaires français sont engagés dans l’opération TRIDENT, nom de la participation française à la KFOR, avec une unité de manœuvre (EEI) et un élément de soutien national (ESN).

25th January 2014 by Daniel Fiott, Alexander Mattelaer, Richard Shirreff - europeangeostrategy.org

The Senior Editors of European Geostrategy have been undertaking a number of interviews with various individuals who are involved in thinking about European foreign, security and military policies. In this interview, Daniel Fiott and Alexander Mattelaer talk with General Sir Richard Shirreff, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe (DSACEUR), NATO, about the exercise Steadfast Jazz, Allied interoperability, the NATO Response Force, Afghanistan and Ballistic Missile Defence.

DF: The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) recently conducted its largest joint multinational exercise since the end of the Cold War through Steadfast Jazz 2013. Of the 6,000 personnel involved the United States (US) sent approximately 160 troops and Germany only 55. France sent 1,200 troops and Poland 1,040. Do these numbers tell us anything significant about how the allies now view NATO?

ARDS: I take your point about the relatively low numbers of troops involved in Steadfast Jazz. However, this exercise was about much more than a tactical demonstration involving large numbers of troops. More important, it was about developing the command and control required should a larger deployment be required and it was an important demonstration of NATO’s commitment to the Baltic region. It is also important to note that with the enduring commitment to Afghanistan and other NATO operations, it has been some time since the NATO Response Force (NRF) was able to train with troops on the ground. This exercise is a signal that NATO will be doing more of such training in future. Indeed, the North Atlantic Council (NAC) has directed that the NRF live exercise in 2015 be at up to divisional strength or equivalent and you can expect to see a large troop deployment then. Steadfast Jazz was the start of a process.

AM: Can joint exercises such as Steadfast Jazz ever make up for the experience of real-life operations in terms of fostering Allied interoperability and operational proficiency?

ARDS: No exercise can ever replicate the challenge, friction and reality of operations. But that is not the point of exercises. Realistic and demanding training can do much to build interoperability, allow forces to train in those aspects of the science of war which may not have been required on recent operations and are an important transformational tool.

DF: Naval manoeuvres in the Baltic Sea and live fire exercises in the Polish countryside are a far cry from Afghanistan. As ISAF winds down its main duties in Afghanistan and deepens its in-country training of Afghan security forces, what does Steadfast Jazz tell us about future NATO operational needs with regard to the NATO Response Force?

ARDS: Steadfast Jazz tells us that NATO needs to train in order to be capable of generating a credible and capable reserve, the NRF. In common with most others, I see NATO on the edge of a new paradigm in which, in the Secretary General’s words, we move from a force committed to a force prepared. As NATO comes to the end of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) combat mission, the Alliance needs to be clear about what it stands for in terms of both defence (Article V) and security. The latter is not only about up stream capacity building to prevent a problem becoming a crisis, it is also about having a strong, capable and credible reserve in case of crisis – and being prepared to use it. This is the challenge facing NATO’s political leadership.

DF: The recent ‘Iran Nuclear Deal’ has prompted calls by the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, for the United States (US) and NATO to abandon their ballistic missile defence (BMD) plans in Europe. Presuming a lasting deal with the Iranians is agreed, do you foresee NATO abandoning BMD in Europe and if not why?

ARDS: No. BMD is a clear statement of NATO’s strategy of collective defence. It remains a vital shield against any potential adversary threatening the countries of the Alliance.

AM: As DSACEUR one of your main functions is to preside over the force generation process and get reluctant Allies to commit the resources required to execute the missions they have approved. How do you cope with the ‘operational fatigue’ that is plaguing many capitals at present?

ARDS: I cannot comment on what you call ‘operational fatigue’. What I can say is that nations have, with one or two exceptions, been remarkably ready to match political commitment with the means required to conduct NATO strategy. As we have drawn down the ISAF mission nations have remained ready to provide the support required and all the indications are that, assuming the political bridges are crossed, that Resolute Support, the post ISAF mission in Afghanistan, will be equally well supported. The Alliance’s Centre of Gravity, coalition cohesion, has held up remarkably well despite the challenges. One other point on force generation: every nation has its own national strategy and plans for its national forces. It is incumbent on me therefore to tailor my requests to nations so that they match national plans as closely as possible. This not only means making my demands as ‘Chiefs of Defence (CHOD) friendly’ as possible, but also understanding national strategy and building close personal relationships with CHODs.

AM: Do you think the latest round of NATO Command Structure reform (and the increased reliance on NATO Force Structure headquarters in particular) has left the Alliance in a better shape?

ARDS: The new Command Structure has yet to reach full operating capability but all the indications are that, if the nations resource it properly (which means 100%) it will be more effective. However, you are right to highlight increased dependence on the Force Structure and this means that nations will have to step up to the mark to offer Force Structure elements when required. The jury remains out on this.

AM: Unlike its EU counterpart, the NATO Defence Planning Process is guided by an ambitious level of ambition and peer pressure dynamics. Yet can Allied defence planning continue to cope with the present level of dependency on a single Ally?

ARDS: NATO’s dependence on the US in the face of European underfunding of defence is probably the Alliance’s Achilles’ heel – and I see little prospect of the gaps being seriously addressed in the near future. However, the levels of ambition have been agreed by the NAC and it is up to nations to match rhetoric with reality if NATO is to meet the challenges of the future.

DF: In their latest set of conclusions on defence, the Council of the EU talk of their desire to build ‘a true organisation-to-organisation relationship’ with NATO. What would such a relationship look like from your perspective?

ARDS: As both NATO’S strategic coordinator with the EU and the Operational Commander of the EU operation in Bosnia-Herzogovina, I am deeply saddened by the demise of Berlin Plus as a result of the political issues of the Eastern Mediterranean. It seems to me absolutely paramount that NATO and the EU develop a genuinely complementary relationship at the strategic level if the challenges of the future are to be met. In an ideal world I would like to see life breathed back into Berlin Plus together with a reverse Berlin Plus under which NATO could call upon EU ‘soft’ power and development finance to be harnessed with NATO military power.

DF: A lot of attention was given to the December 2013 European Council meeting on defence – the first for five years. Yet the next NATO Summit looms on the horizon and this warrants just as much, if not more, attention from European states; especially in view of the US’ ongoing pivot to Asia. What would you say is the main priority for the 2014 Summit?

ARDS: First, a review of the past two decades of operations. Next, a clear statement of what NATO is for in the future and how it means to adapt strategically and operationally. A resounding commitment to reinvigorating NRF as a credible, capable and above all genuinely usable and deployable reserve together with a commitment to comprehensive capacity building in unstable and strategically vital regions. Finally, I would like to see NATO partnerships adapt: all partnerships to be brought under one roof as ‘NATO partnerships for peace and security.’

Jan. 20, 2014 - By TOM KINGTON and VAGO MURADIAN – Defense News

WASHINGTON AND ROME — Italy’s defense minister has warned that criminal groups with potential links to terrorism are profiting from running migrant vessels across the Mediterranean to European shores and is calling on the US to keep focused on resurgent Islamic terrorism in the region.

Mario Mauro told a small group of reporters that Italy is using drones and submarines to counter the profitable trafficking of migrants from North Africa, which was potentially bankrolling terrorism.

“European governments and public opinion see this as a problem of illegal immigration — this is not my vision,” Mauro said during a trip to Washington last week to see US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

“My thinking is that the situation is linked to the problem of international security and the security of the Mediterranean,” he said.

Mauro and Hagel — who also discussed Afghanistan and the Joint Strike Fighter program — agreed to raise the Mediterranean refugee issue at the upcoming NATO Military Committee meeting in Brussels this month.

The traditional flow of migrants from Africa to Italy, usually on ramshackle boats that head for the Italian island of Lampedusa, has stepped up in recent years, initially boosted by an outpouring of migrants from Tunisia, and more recently from Syria. Migrants also make the arduous desert crossing from Sub-Saharan Africa through Libya, where they have often been jailed and tortured before being allowed to board boats.

After hundreds of migrants drowned last year when their boats sank, the Italian Navy mounted regular patrols to pull people off unseaworthy, overcrowded vessels.

Mauro said the normal flow of boats from Libya is being augmented by sailings from Egypt organized by “criminal multinational organizations,” which had handled 25,000 paying passengers in the past year, the majority fleeing the war in Syria.

Traffickers are using mother ships, he said, which would tow smaller and less seaworthy vessels to within about 200 kilometers of the Italian coast, at which point about 1,000 passengers would be loaded onto the smaller vessels and released.

On one occasion, an Italian submarine surfaced 100 meters from a mother ship, allowing Italian special operations forces to board it and arrest the traffickers, he said.

With each passenger paying around $3,000, each sailing was netting about $3 million, he said, with proceeds heading to international criminal organizations, not excluding some possible links with terrorist groups in Syria and Somalia.

“The problem is not just illegal migration but international security,” Mauro said. “It’s important that the US understands better what is going on in the Mediterranean.”

In Libya, he added, it is hard to tell the difference between criminal and terrorist groups involved in trafficking.

“There are 28 brigades that call themselves jihadists, but they are often criminals,” he said. South of the Libyan border, he added, “chaos” reigns, with thousands of terrorists at large.

Mauro said he believes the ships could also have been used to ferry terrorists into Europe.

“I was in Kosovo where I learned that about 500 Kosovars who had been involved in the Syrian war were coming home. How can we discover if they are in these boats?” he said.

Right now, he added, the Italian Navy is receiving assistance in its patrols from the Navy of Slovenia.

“Lampedusa is the border of Europe, not just Italy,” he said. “We are convinced that Europe has to do more to guarantee security in the Mediterranean.”

Robert Fox, an independent UK defense analyst, said “Libya left a conduit open which will be a channel for al-Qaida into Europe, and this means Afghan veterans, not just a loose alliance of African groups. If the US is still interested in security, it needs to stay focused on the Mediterranean.”

Mauro also warned of the potential of the Syrian war to spill over into Lebanon, stating, “Hezbollah is now fighting an offensive war for the first time, which is very dangerous,” while in Syria, “there are Chechen and Yemeni brigades as well as Saudi fighters, as well as Sunni rebels fighting each other due to different backers and different visions of Islam. And with the jihadists losing, there is the problem of a spill over into Iraq.”

During their meeting, Hagel and Mauro discussed the Middle East and Italy’s offer of the Calabrian port of Gioia Tauro for the switching of Syria’s chemical weapon stockpile from Danish and Norwegian vessels to a US ship configured to neutralize the weapons at sea.

Tension and violence in the Middle East will not vanish, Mauro said.

“The results of the last 10 years suggest we will live with this situation for a long time,” he said. “I am determined to convince our allies to share a long-term common vision, and we probably need a new strategy for the area and one crucial element is the role of the US.”

That, he said, requires a stronger relationship between the US and Europe, “an Atlantic perspective, not just a European or an American perspective.”

And that, in turn, requires a stronger Europe, he said. “We need more Europe, and that means we can guarantee the US it will be less alone facing an international crisis. A more united Europe is a good opportunity for the US,” he said.

But that requires more coordination of fractured defense spending — Europe’s apparently unresolvable problem.

“This was discussed at the EU summit in December for the first time in five years,” Mauro said. “Without a common strategy of defense, there is no guarantee for the political project which is the European Union.”

16 janvier 2014 par  Jacques Marouani - electroniques.biz

Au programme : intervention de l’Otan, de l’Agence européenne de défense, cas pratiques et exemples de succès. Deux tables rondes seront également organisées.

Eden (European defense economic network), cluster de la filière défense, sécurité et sûreté, organise un séminaire à Bruxelles le 28 janvier 2014, de 13h à 21 h, dans l’objectif d’aider les entreprises à conquérir de nouveaux marchés auprès de la Défense européenne. Toutes les PME françaises de défense et sécurité peuvent y participer.

Eden Paca (association régionale Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur) a lancé cette initiative en partenariat avec la représentation permanente de la France auprès de l’Union européenne et avec le soutien du réseau consulaire. Le but est de rencontrer les institutions européennes qui comptent dans le domaine de la défense (base industrielle et technologique de défense européenne, Agence européenne de défense...), de mieux comprendre leurs mécanismes d’achats afin de pouvoir remporter des appels d’offres européens.

Au programme : intervention de l’Otan, de l’Agence européenne de défense, cas pratiques et exemples de succès. Deux tables rondes serviront de fil conducteur :

- Industriels des marchés de la défense, comment saisir les opportunités, comment aborder les marchés ?

- La BITDE (base industrielle et technologique de défense européenne), acteurs et process, clefs pourdévelopper les business.

Ce séminaire se tiendra à la représentation permanente de la France auprès de l’Union européenne, 14 Place Louvain, à Bruxelles.

Les inscriptions doivent parvenir par mail à : moreau@eden-defense-cluster.com.

Eden, cluster des PME de défense, sécurité et sûreté, fondé en 2008, tourné vers l’export et vers l’Europe, est une fédération nationale qui compte plus de 100 PME membres. Ces entreprises représentent 8000 emplois et près d’un milliard d’euros de chiffre d'affaires, dont plus de la moitié à l’export. Les entreprises adhérentes couvrent 4 domaines d'activités complémentaires : équipements pour aéronefs, navires et véhicules ; détection, protection et surveillance ; ingénierie et essais ; protection individuelle.

Ces entreprises proviennent essentiellement des régions Rhône-Alpes, Bretagne, Centre et Paca. En 2012, Eden a signé une convention de partenariat avec un cluster allemand homologue, dans le but de développer réseaux et opportunités d’affaires européennes pour ses membres. Dans la même lignée, Eden continue à rechercher des rapprochements avec d’autres clusters européens

14/01/2014 L. Picard  - DICoD

Depuis le 1er janvier 2014 et pour une durée d'un an, la France est à tête de la composante terrestre de la Nato Response Force (NRF), la Force de réaction rapide de l'OTAN. Cette force peut être amenée à intervenir rapidement lors de trois situations principales : la défense collective d'un membre de l'Alliance, le rétablissement ou le maintien de la paix et en cas de catastrophe naturelle.

En novembre dernier, une grande partie des unités appelées pour la prise d'alerte NRF 2014 se sont réunies en Pologne, sur le camp militaire de Drawsko-Pomorskie, à l'occasion de l'exercice interalliés "Steadfast Jazz". Exercice de grande ampleur réunissant une vingtaine de nationalités, il visait à certifier et valider le degré de préparation des forces désignées pour la prise d'alerte NRF 2014.

10.01.2013 Par Olivier Berger, grand reporter à La Voix du Nord.

09/01/2014 Sources : Caporal-chef Marie-Ange Ilmany Armée de l'air

En 2015, l’armée de l’air prendra pour la quatrième fois l’alerte pour la composante aérienne de la force de réaction rapide de l’Otan. Pour être opérationnelle, elle s’entraînera tout au long de l’année 2014.

Avec la NRF 2015 (NATO response force - force de réaction rapide de l’Otan), l’armée de l’air prendra l’alerte de la composante aérienne pour la quatrième fois (NRF 5, NRF 12, NRF 17). Elle consiste à avoir la capacité de déployer rapidement une ou plusieurs composantes multinationales, terrestre, maritime, aérienne ou des forces spéciales, n’importe où dans le monde.

Entraînements et certifications

L’année 2014 sera ainsi l’occasion pour le JFACC français (Joint Forces Air Component Command - commandement interarmées de la composante «air») et différents moyens aériens nationaux et alliés associés de s’entraîner et de se certifier pour cette prise d’alerte.

 Une série d’exercices (Steadfast Cobalt, Trident Juncture),dont un exercice avec des vols réels (Noble Arrow 2014) permettront de tester l’interopérabilité des forces aériennes françaises en situation de crise internationale et de certifier le JFACC français.

La NRF: Kesaco ?

Évacuation de ressortissants, mission de maintien de la paix et de stabilisation, opérations à caractère humanitaire, opérations d’entrée en premier d’une force… Avec près de 25 000 hommes, la NRF a la capacité de se déployer dans un délai allant de 5 à 30 jours, permettant ainsi une réponse militaire à une crise émergente. Elle fonctionne sur le principe de rotation. Les structures de l’Otan, la France et d’autres pays membres assurent à tour de rôle le commandement des différentes composantes de la force, pour une durée qui passe désormais de 6 à 12 mois, d'où le changement de codification.  Cela exige un haut niveau de préparation et d’interopérabilité entre les nations.

Jan 09, 2014 straitstimes.com

BERLIN (AFP) - Germany's former defence minister on Wednesday took an unusually undiplomatic parting shot at allies France and Britain, saying Berlin had met its responsibilities when it came to overseas military operations.

Mr Thomas de Maiziere, seen as a close ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, told a military ceremony marking his departure from the ministry that "Germany has no lessons to take from anyone in Europe on how to organise its military interventions. Not even from France or Britain."

"When it comes to international engagements, we have several times been more involved than France," he said in an apparent reference to the Nato-led operation in Afghanistan where Germany contributes the third most troops behind the United States and Britain.

"Germany does its duty, even when the domestic political situation is difficult. No German government has suffered a defeat on a vote to approve military intervention," he added, in a veiled swipe at British Prime Minister David Cameron's defeat in parliament over possible action in Syria.

Read more

6 janv. 2014  NATO

30/12/2013 Sources : EMA

Depuis le 5 décembre, l’Escadron d’éclairage et d’investigation (EEI) déployé sur le poste DOG 31 réalise des patrouilles quotidiennes afin de préserver la sécurité et la liberté de mouvement pour tous sur le territoire du Kosovo.

A partir de la position DOG 31, l’EEI a pour mission principale de s’assurer du bon fonctionnement du trafic routier. Aux côtés de l’armée serbe, et aidé d’un interprète, l’EEI effectue également des patrouilles à pied. Celles-ci permettent de surveiller l’environnement immédiat et de repérer d’éventuels barrages ou barricades.

Jusqu’au 21 décembre, l’EEI a également mené des patrouilles nautiques avec des éléments autrichiens sur le lac de Gazivaudé. Ce lac artificiel forme une ligne administrative entre le Nord du Kosovo et la Serbie.

La KFOR participe au maintien d’un environnement sûr et sécurisé au profit de l’ensemble de la population du Kosovo, en coopération avec la Mission des Nations unies au Kosovo (MINUK) et la mission de l’Union européenne (EULEX). Environ 320 militaires français sont engagés dans l’opération TRIDENT, nom de la participation française à la KFOR, avec une unité de manœuvre (l’EEI) et un élément de soutien national.