CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. – Military leaders from across NATO allied nations came together in support of the Multination Amphibious Conference hosted by II Marine Expeditionary Force from Oct. 28 through Oct. 29. II MEF hosted British, Dutch, and Norwegian military members to participate in the conference to discuss future force design modernizations and integrate their force concepts as a cohesive, amphibious-capable collective.
“Our main objective with the conference was to establish a community of interest for amphibious operations,” said U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Patrick Hassett, operational planner for II MEF. “We’re getting together as a community to share significant emerging concepts, both with an amphibious focus and more broadly as a naval force. There’s a distinct case for change, given the nature of the future operating environment that we’re faced with, and we need to adapt as an allied force to succeed in future operations.”
The representatives shared a wide range of innovative emergent concepts to its allies and partners discussing the future of their force design. The points discussed sparked a distinct interest from the audience in not only the level of strategic cooperation within the United Kingdom and the Netherlands’ ongoing partnership, but sparked the conversation of a united partnership in amphibious developments between the Dutch, British, Norwegian and American forces present for the conference.
“Incipient steps are focused at sharing the advancements in each respective nation’s amphibious force modernization and sustaining this community of interest together,” said Hassett. “We’re solidifying the relationships at the action-officer level, so to say, and making sure that our forces comprehend, can envision integration opportunities, and ultimately plan for maximized interoperability in the future.”
A prime point of focus for the discussions between nations was the defense and operational capability within the Nordic regions, including much of arctic Europe. This region was colloquially referred to as the “High North,” and each nation’s command, control, and operability within such an austere environment was a major focus of the future of amphibious warfare. Hassett elaborated on the point, stating that enabling the flexibility and capabilities inherent to amphibious operations in the land, air, maritime, cyber, and space domains, in this region, through allied nation amphibious operations is a key factor in defending from and deterring against hostile actions undertaken by near-peer adversaries across the globe.
“We’re demonstrating a coalition of integrated deterrence,” Hassett said. “Our ability to be flexible, adaptable and decisive with our allied force integration and operations will give our adversaries pause. The exponentially greater yield from allied amphibious capabilities changes the theater geometries, allowing us to maneuver and employ our broad military capabilities throughout the battlespace. Our adversaries are challenged to contest this aggregation of military power.”
The Multination Amphibious Conference is held in order to facilitate factors of change and expand the possibilities of amphibious operations through communication and cooperation between NATO allies and partner nations. Hassett said that as technology develops, the need for modernization increases exponentially and each allied nation comes together to meet that ever-expanding goal through interconnectedness and a shared, un-siloed interest. As each nation develops parallel to one another, the teamwork and communication between nations provided by coalition conferences like these work towards the goal of enjoining their advancements, and becoming a complementary, effective fighting force for NATO.
Date Taken: | 11.06.2024 |
Date Posted: | 11.06.2024 15:31 |
Story ID: | 484781 |
Location: | MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
Web Views: | 70 |
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