Building Capacity through Innovation: One Approach to Multinational Logistics

About a year ago, EUCOM’s Logistics directorate worked with the Czech Republic at the 2008 Senior NATO Logisticians’ Conference. The goal was to develop a Multinational Logistics Coordination Center where nations could collectively develop bilateral and multilateral support agreements to facilitate the operational employment and sustainment of forces for national or Alliance missions. As the year progressed, nations began to see a host of possibilities this center could offer.

For starters, the coordination center could reduce the amount of redundancy in operational planning efforts, and improve synchronization of multinational approaches to logistics issues. It would also improve the visibility of national requirements and identify existing logistics capabilities and shortfalls.

Navy Rear Adm. William Brown, Director EUCOM\'s Logistics Directorate, signs Letter of Intent with the Senior NATO Logisticians\' Coference General, Oct. 29, 2009.

At this year’s Senior NATO Logisticians’ Conference, which was held in October at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, the attendees agreed to sign a Letter of Intent demonstrating their determination and commitment to address critical logistics issues and improve nation-to-nation visibility and understanding of NATO and national support elements.

Rear Admiral William Brown, director of European Command Logistics, along with the assistance of Mr. Kalvin Huynh, Senior Web Application Developer at Computer Sciences Corporation, are working to develop a logistics collaboration tool that will facilitate attendance and participation at the coordination through HARMONIEWeb.

HARMONIEWeb was initiated in June 2006, as a joint venture between the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Networks and Information Integration and the U.S. Joint Forces Command. USJFCOM was directed to develop the platform for the exchange of unclassified information across the civil-military boundary associated with Stability, Security, Transition and Reconstruction or Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief operations.

In the short time that HARMONIEWeb has been up and running, it has already improved the military’s ability to exchange timely and relevant information with our partner nations, particularly in the critical early stages of an operation. We’re now able to synchronize efforts and accelerate successful mission completion. The true test came during the EUCOM humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations during Operation Assured Delivery in Georgia in 2008. During that operation, HARMONIEWeb allowed for all participants to have a common environment to meet and exchange ideas and information.

Multinational Logistics Coordination Center\'s virtual collaboration concept.

HARMONIEWeb provides many tools including a full MOSS 2007 portal ; real-time meeting software with voice, video and file sharing; virtual mapping with satellite overlays and custom icons; and text chat that can be translated into 15 languages. These tools allow all participants in an IW , SSTR, or HADR effort to communicate and coordinate activities regardless of nationality or organizational affiliation.
As innovation and creativity continue here in European Command through competent and capable staffs, one can only expect to see improvement in the logistics arena for NATO, NATO’s allies and regional partners for years to come.

Matt Williams
MAJ, US Army
ECJ4 Engagements Officer