Blog Posts tagged with "conference"
Last LOGEX conference before the exercise
Arriving in Tirana, Albania, I was not fully prepared for the various sights and sounds I experienced. My timing could not have been better: I arrived just as Albania was celebrating the 100th anniversary of their independence from the Ottoman Empire.
The LOGEX 13 Final Coordination Conference and associated workshop was held in Tirana, at the Albanian Military Training Doctrine Center. Lt. Col. Ndrieim Sallaku, the Albanian J4 Deputy Director, opened the workshop by saying that LOGEX events like this are very important to the Albanian military officers. He added these events are so important that the military budget took a twenty percent budget cut and LOGEX was the only program that did not get affected by the cuts. It is important to note that Albania became a NATO member and now self-funds their participation in LOGEX.
The objective of the workshop was to better familiarize logistics staff officers with NATO logistics planning and implementation procedures. Other benefits include increased cooperation and coordination among logistics staff officers for future combined operations and assessment of logistics support requirements. Participants also practice NATO reporting procedures and become familiar with NATO logistics communication systems such as LOGFAS. By the end of the conference Albania will develop a detailed deployment plan (DDP) -- equivalent to the time phased force deployment data (TPFDD) – to use during LOGEX 13 in Bosnia in February 2013.
During the week participants were introduced to topics such as NATO/National Security Element (NSE) guidelines, the NATO Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF), deployed contracting, acquisition and cross servicing agreements (ACSA), NATO Contracting, and NATO Support Agency (NSPA) (formerly known as NAMSA). They also participated in five breakout sessions to develop and build their national DDP which will feed into Bosnia’s DDP to create the exercise DDP.
The Final Planning Conference and workshop were both extremely successful due to the participants’ hard work, the amazing support of the host nation and the team effort by Joint Staff J7 and the Allied Command Transformation (ACT) personnel that put these workshops and conferences togther.
US Air Force Major Todd J. Morin
J4-JLOC Strategy & Engagements
International Program Manager
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Reflections on 5th annual joint EUCOM/ Marshall Center International Legal Conference
EUCOM's Attorney and Legal Engagement Coordinator Reflects on the 5th Annual Joint EUCOM/Marshall CEnter International Legal Conference
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Key Elements from the Munich Security Conference
Ah, the Munich Security Conference. Certainly the most prestigious of all the global security conferences, with routine appearances by heads of government, Defense and other ministers of state, brilliant academics, journalists and even a few Admirals and Generals.
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Preparing for ILC 2012
We’ve set a date for this year’s International Legal Conference – Sept. 7-9 – now we just have to find a location.
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Munich Security Conference Brings out the Stars
There is something of a red carpet, a press of media, crowds everywhere, the buzz of deal cutting and gossiping, all held in an elegant 18th century hotel in the heart of Bavaria.
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The Importance of Culture
As I mentioned in my vlog last week I was in Bergen, Norway during my official co-hosting duties with the Norwegian Chief of Defense, General Harald Sunde, for the Northern European Chief of Defense (CHOD) Conference. As "The Fjord Capital of Norway", Bergen is often described as "a city with its feet in the sea, its head in the skies, and its heart in the right place." What I didn't mention in the vlog is I found myself in a situation that affected my head and heart before the conference had even begun.
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LOGEX 10 Workshops: Two Down … Three to Go
As promised in February, welcome to another edition of LOGEX 10. This month’s events find me at the National Support Element (NSE) & Logistics Functional Area Services (LOGFAS) workshop in the Czech Republic, which is the second in a series of five workshops designed for each participating nation in this year’s exercise. Warrant Officer Martin Turner (RAF), Allied Command Transformation, provides instruction on LOGFAS.
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Military chaplains evolve with changing religious landscape
From strategic to sensitive, the military chaplaincy prepares its clergy to advise commanders and provide spiritual counsel in time of contingency operations.
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Quality of Life Conference 2010 – Our voices will be heard
When I was selected to participate in the Quality of Life Conference, I can honestly say I had no idea what to expect. After arriving here at the conference, I was very surprised at the relaxing, yet passionate atmosphere I experienced. I was placed in the Community Services I Group. My group was very energetic, enthusiastic and full of really great ideas. There were times of strong disagreements, but we were always able to come to a conclusion that was beneficial to all of EUCOM.
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Health of the Force – Day 3 of the QoL Conference
What should have been a pretty smooth morning, only turned upside down. My focus group, Health of the Force received shocking news that one of our top two topics to be address this afternoon, needed to be rebuilt from the ground up. It was back to the butcher board. Despite some remaining conflicting points of view, it was thanks to our groups amazing negotiating and team skills that we were able to revitalize the topic we felt most passionate about presenting. That is the beauty of being a part of this process. Despite the difference of views and opinion, the bottom line is we are here for the benefit of our community.
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Community Service II – Medical Screening
This is my first time attending a Quality of Life (QoL) Conference, but what an opportunity it has been for me. This conference has enabled me to express so many morale issues that affect my location. As a secondary effect, I was able to interact with members of other services and align my issues with these sister services to create a joint or “purple” problem.
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Real life issues addressed at the Quality of Life Conference
The life that a man or woman experiences while serving in the military is often one of sacrifice, hardship and honor. A normal day is often long and stressful. Families aren't perfect outside the military and they are no different inside except the normal stressors on a military family are extraordinary. Families break all the time. Some breaks are permanent, some temporary, some caused by the stressors of a military life. Now throw in deployments to overseas locations where families cope with strong cultural challenges, language barriers, and being a thousand miles from their own homeland. Now we have to throw 9 years of combat operations into the mix. Deployments mean more sacrifice, hardship and places fragile families in danger of breaking and solid families endure loneliness, depression and loss of intimacy.
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The Quality Of Life Conference comes to an end for 2010
Ok, for those of you who were paying attention and can count are probably thinking … if there were only 4 focus groups, how can there be a “Top 10." One can say a lot about the Texas educational system, but it did teach me that 4 times 2 does not equal 10. So the additional 2 issues came from The European Strategy Conference, which focuses on remote Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC) areas, held last week in Ramstein, Germany.
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Thoughts on how to bring POWER forward
As a social worker, who has worked for so many years in the civilian sector, I am always amazed at how well the military tries to take care of its soldiers and families. If only the rest of the people in the U.S. had access to some of the wonderful programs designed to support and enhance families and their quality of life. I have been at the Quality of Life Conference here in Garmisch since Monday, and have been impressed and moved by the enthusiasm, true caring, and willingness to help that the military has for the people who dedicate their lives to our country.
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Community Service II – Day 3 – Quality of Life Conference
As we worked through the descriptions of the mentioned problem, the active duty members and spouses in our group stepped into situations that none of us want to face. The curtain that is always present was pulled away as we thought about and discussed what our service members and their families (spouses, next of kin, etc) go through, emotionally and mentally, during times of great loss.
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Youth Teen and Dependent Education – Day 2
As a group we collectively created a program to eliminate the adult ‘middle man’ process resulting in what we are interested in being expressed. This program, if allotted the five year requested trial program, is expected by the young adult delegates to directly reduce the amount of at-risk behavior.
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P.O.W.E.R. at the EUCOM QOL Conference
I am here not as a delegate, not as an observer or even as a Subject Matter Expert, aka the SME… but here because I belong to the P.O.W.E.R. Group – a program that was put into place based on the needs expressed from attendees at conferences just like this!
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Quality of Life Conference winds down
The four focus groups, Health of the Force, Community Service I and II, and the Youth/Teen Dependent Education, have worked hard for the last four days. It has been an interesting experience for me. I have had an opportunity to sit in on a couple of the focus groups and on every occasion everyone was highly engaged in the discussions and very passionate about every issue.
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Quality Of Life Conference: Day One
After the video, the Chief of Staff for EUCOM, Army Maj. Gen. John Morgan provided the opening remarks welcoming everyone to the conference…and so it began.
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Teenagers at the Quality of Life Conference
Hi I’m Brannon Niblock and I am a first timer at the QoL Conference in Garmish. As a Teen Representative from MARFOREUR I am a part of the Youth Delegate Crew.
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Health of the Force Focus Group at the Quality of Life Conference
Well, I have to say “Welcome" to everyone attending this year’s Quality of Life Conference. I have been in Germany for all of four months and thrilled to be here in the beautiful city of Garmisch. As a new Delegate for the Ansbach community, being a part of EUCOM’s mission for Quality of Life has turned out to be quite an experience.
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Community Services II Focus Group at the Quality of Life Conference
Grüss Gott from Edelweiss Lodge in the picturesque Bavarian town of Garmisch, Germany. My name is Thomas and I have the wonderful and unique privilege to represent my fellow Airmen and service members at the EUCOM Quality of Life conference. The overarching mission of the conference is to identify “purple” issues, or those who affect the entire European theater for all service members and their families. All delegates have converged here after soliciting and compiling inputs from our local environments in order to elevate the most pertinent concerns.
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EUCOM Quality of Life Conference starts
I was at EUCOM for about two months when I heard of a section within EUCOM called Quality of Life (QoL). Now I have to admit, when I first heard of the QoL section, I had no idea what they did let alone what their mission at EUCOM was. In my many years of being in the Army, I have never heard of a section within a command whose main function was improving the quality of life for its military and family members.Obviously, I had a few questions…what do they do and more importantly, what happens at these conferences? Quite frankly, what is Quality of Life?
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Stronger Together: Logistics Exercise 2010 Mid Planning Conference (LOGEX10)
It is no secret that EUCOM remains committed to enduring partnerships and increased interoperability with NATO.... look at any Directors calendar and you'll probably notice how busy we all are towards that commitment. This year marks the third EUCOM-led logistics exercise, which is a Command Post Exercise (CPX) that is based on NATO doctrine which uses a multinational approach in supporting deployed forces in NATO-led out of area operations, and easily follows EUCOM's them of "Stronger Together."
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A Global Force for Good
Just left historic Munich, Germany where I was fortunate to attend and speak at their annual Security Conference.
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Afghanistan: The London Conference
Yet, at the moment, I am thinking about a superb international event that happened last week: the International London Conference on Afghanistan. Last week, I wrote about my last trip to Afghanistan as we prepared for it. The media has thoroughly covered the conference (here’s a sample of recent coverage, based on an interview with me), and you can watch key presentations online, like this one from Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s review of the conference on his video blog. So rather than reiterating what's already been said, I thought I'd share with you some personal thoughts and impressions, and my interpretations of the atmospherics.
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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.
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The International Legal Conference promotes lively exchange between 33 EUCOM nations
Over 100 senior military and civilian attorneys from 33 nations joined together in Garmisch, Germany last week for the EUCOM / Marshall Center International Legal Conference.
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Harvest time; Harvesting Interagency Best Practices
It is autumn, harvest time here in southern Germany. People are celebrating what has been planted in the spring with fests in Munich, Stuttgart and even in smaller towns like Garmisch-Partenkirchen where I have been for the last three days.
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EUCOM Legal Conference
Senior legal experts from over 30 European nations are meeting at the EUCOM International Legal Conference beginning Sep. 22, 2009, in Garmisch, Germany. Co-sponsored by the George C. Marshall Center, this week-long event will encourage discussion on such emerging legal questions as: what is the military role for ensuring energy security in Europe? What are the legal and military challenges facing the future of the Arctic/High North in the decades to come? A multinational panel will also discuss trends in Status of Forces Agreements (SOFAs).
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EUCOM Hosts NATO Conference
We had a superb turn-out at the EUCOM-hosted 2009 NATO Security Investment Program (NSIP) Conference held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen March 16 to 19. This event, held in cooperation with the NATO Strategic Allied Transformation Command, brought together over 170 representatives from 24 NATO nations, each of the NATO Headquarters and several of the NATO Agencies to discuss the status and future of this important Alliance program in transforming and sustaining NATO missions and operations.
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Leaders are Champions for the QoL Cause
When General Craddock hired me as EUCOM Senior Enlisted Leader three years ago, he laid out four priorities for me. One of them was quality of life for Service members and their Families. A couple years ago at the December 2006 QoL conference, I spoke to the delegates and laid out what I foresaw to be our greatest quality of life challenges. A lot has happened since 2006. As co-chairman of the EUCOM Quality of Life Executive Steering Committee, I’ve seen tremendous diligence as we address issues brought to us from the conferences and resolve them through the QoL Action Plan.
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Quality of Life Steering Committee Engages DoD Leaders
On Tuesday, members of the EUCOM Quality of Life Executive Steering Committee (ESC) met with senior Department of Defense officials. The QoL ESC is a body of leaders that govern the Quality of Life Action Plan. Members include the Directors of Personnel and the Senior Enlisted Leaders from EUCOM and each of the service component commands in Europe. The QoL Conference give members of the ESC the unique opportunity to engage with senior DoD officials and carry the command's QoL message to the Pentagon.
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Day 2 Recap: Speakers, Focus Groups fill the day
European Command continued the Quality of Life Conference Monday, March 9. Speakers included Dr. Shirley Miles, Director, Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA); Mr. Sam Retherford, representative from Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Military Personnel Policy and Jacey Eckhart, a motivational speaker, syndicated militarycolumnist, and author of "The Homefront Club."
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We're Off and Running at the 2009 QoL Conference
After months of planning we are off to a great start in Garmisch, Germany as delegates and senior leaders arrive for this year's EUCOM QoL Conference. Excitement is high, as the only worldwide joint event of its kind lifts off. Stayed tuned to the QoL Conference website for updates, photos and news from Garmisch. As we say here, the voice of one can have a worldwide impact in improving quality of life for the warfighter and family.
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2009 EUCOM Quality of Life Conference
The U.S. European Command is gearing up for its fifth annual Quality of Life Conference March 8-12, 2009, in Garmisch, Germany. Grassroots representatives from throughout the command will gather to share their concerns about subjects such as housing childcare deployment support services Wounded Warrior Care issues facing teenagers and much more. During the conference the 60 delegates will have opportunities to interact with senior EUCOM leaders Component Command leadership and Department of Defense officials.
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What does Social Networking have to do with Quality of Life?
Next week, U.S. European Command will host its annual Quality of Life Conference in Garmisch, Germany.
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EUCOM Team Shared Operational Contract Support Initiatives at Joint Staff Conference: Staying on the
ECJ4 sent the contracting section to the "Operational Contract Support (OCS) Planning Conference" hosted by the Joint Staff/J4 and Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Program Support). The purpose of this conference was to get a vector from senior leadership on OCS, share initiatives from Combatant Commands, update key planning documents and obtain an update on DoD OCS initiatives.
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