EXHIBITIONS AND CONFERENCES
24 Jul 09. On 27th July, 2009 the NATO Deputy Secretary General, Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero, travelled to Hungary to take part in the ceremony at the Papa airbase welcoming the arrival of the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III plane. This plane is the first of the three acquired by the NATO Airlift Management Agency (NAMA) as part of the Strategic Airlift Capability initiative (SAC). The ceremony was also attended by the Hungarian Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai, the Minister of Defence Mr. Imre Szekeres and other high level representatives of the twelve SAC participating nations.
Jul 09. UK’s Comprehensive Approach to Operations Demonstrated at DSEi The realities of 21st century military operations come under the spotlight at DSEi this year as the British Army Export Support Team takes ‘Krulak’s Three Block War in the 21st Century’ as its theme. General Krulak, who was Commandant of the US Marine Corps between 1995 and 1999, originally came up with The Three Block War concept to illustrate the complex spectrum of challenges likely to be faced by soldiers involved in today’s operations. The concept identified that soldiers may be required to conduct everything from high intensity operations to humanitarian relief all within the space of three contiguous city blocks. Krulak argued that modern militaries needed to be trained to operate and adapt to any or all of these environments simultaneously. This belief evolved out of operations conducted through the 90s including the first Gulf War,
Somalia and the Balkan conflicts. The British Armed Forces have successfully incorporated elements of Krulak’s thinking into training for the UK’s Comprehensive Approach to Operations. Recent campaigns in Sierra Leone, the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as other tasks in direct support of the United Nations and overseas disaster relief, have all benefited from soldiers being trained in these areas.
Today’s military thinking and doctrine have developed beyond the
original Three Block War concept but its basic tenets remain relevant
and the British Army Export Support Team has incorporated a 21st century
slant to the concept to portray four areas of focus relevant to soldiers
deployed in today’s theatres of operation.
The first quadrant covers High Intensity Operations, which are necessary
to secure an environment in which to conduct subsequent operations. This
leads on to the second quadrant – Maintaining a Secure Environment – in
order to ensure it is safe against a variety of potential threats such
as insurgency or sectarian focused civil disorder. Equipment in these
areas could include observation and surveillance kits, light armoured
patrol vehicles, personal equipment such as body armour, UAVs and bomb
disposal units.
The third quadrant focuses on Peace Support Operations (PSO). Often
conducted under the mandate of a coalition, such as the United Nations
or NATO, this can necessitate a wide range of equipment and capabilities
– anything from secure communications systems to water purification
products. The final quadrant will look at Humanitarian Operations where
medical and infrastructure support tools are needed to respond to
humanitarian disasters such as famines, floods and earthquakes.
Soldiers from the British Army Export Support Team will be carrying out
each demonstration and will be on hand to explain the characteristics
and use of equipment. Demonstrations take place on Stand 2011 in the
North Hall at ExCeL twice a day with each lasting around 20 minutes.
Scheduled timings and details of the British equipment on display in
this area will be released nearer to the event.