The 11th Annual CMDR COE Conference “CRISIS RESPONSE TO NEWLY ARISING WORLDWIDE THREATS”

The CMDR COE has received a formal letter of appreciation on behalf of the Croatian Armed Forces General Staff. It recognizes the great efforts CMDR COE Mobile Training Team has done to conduct courses in regard of the of exercise SEESIM 14 preparation process. Expressing special thanks, the Croatian site states the desire to develop cooperation in future.

On 28-30 April 2014, the Crisis Management and Disaster Response Centre of Excellence (CMDR COE) hosted the workshop Military Medical Response in Disaster Management, sponsored by US European Command (USEUCOM) and the Bulgarian Ministry of Defence. The 3-day workshop focused on topics related to principles and practices of medical and psychological support in military missions as well as in operations in response of disasters. The workshop was attended by more than 25 participants from the Bulgarian Military Medical Academy, Joint Force Command, Land Forces, Air Force, medical experts from the services HQs, and Bulgarian Red Cross. Informative presentations delivered by instructors of 212-th Combat Support Hospital and Military Medical Academy and fruitful discussions during each session treated of important issues like framework of disaster planning process, components of basic and contingency plans, psychological aspects of disaster reaction and preventive medicine.

The Exercise Planners′ Training Course was conducted by the Crisis Management and Disaster Response Centre of Excellence (CMDR COE) National Defense Academy Mobile Training Team (MTT) in conjunction with the SEESIM 14 Main Planning Conference (MPC) in the Croatian Defense Academy in Zagreb from 31 March to 1 April 2014.

The course was designed to enhance the theoretical knowledge and practical skills of NATO and Partners′ Exercise Planners. The course was attended by 46 participants from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Romania, Montenegro, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, USA, Greece, and SEEBRIG.

The participants were familiarized by members of the MTT with NATO and EU approaches in crisis management and disaster response as well the main exercise planning documents and stages. Presentations "Introduction to Exercise Planning Process", "NATO and EU Crisis Management Systems and Mechanisms", "Main Stages in NATO Exercise Planning Process", "Computer Assisted Exercises and Simulations", and "NATO Crisis Management and Operations Planning" was included in the main part of the course.

U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria, Marcie B. Ries paid a special visit to the Host Nation Coordination Cell (HNCC) a component of Saber Guardian 2014 co-hosted by the CMDR COE. The Ambassador took part in a VTC with the 7th Civil Support Commander at Novo Selo Training Area and expressed an active interest in matters of the exercise. The Ambassador familiarized with the objectives and goals of Saber Guardian 14 provided realism to the exercise execution. The CMDR COE then hosted the Ambassador at their headquarters where she met with the CMDR Staff.

U.S. Army Europe (US EUCOM) and the Bulgarian Land Forces Soldiers kicked off Saber Guardian 2014 on Mar 31, 2014.

Saber Guardian 2014 is a multinational training exercise designed to reinforce U.S. Army Europe′s commitment to increasing regional flexibility, preserving and enhancing NATO interoperability, and facilitating multinational training.

USAREUR Deputy Commanding General, Maj. Gen. Richard Longo, and Deputy Commander of the Bulgarian Land Forces, Brig. Gen. Krasimir Kanev, will serve as this year′s exercise co-directors.

A Mobile Training Team (MTT) consisted by lectures from the CMDR COE and National Defense Academy has conducted a Crisis Management and Disaster Response Workshop. It took place at the South-Eastern Europe Brigade (SEEBRIG) HQ in Greece from 17 to 19 February 2014. The MTT was led by col.Lyubomir Simeonov, Deputy Chief of National Defence Academy

The SEEBRIG was established and activated by seven participating Nations on 31st of August 1999 and is currently located in Larissa. The workshop goals were to provide educational information and details for the Crisis Management understanding and the NATO COEs Network covering the HQ staff area of interest by:

A welcoming speech of the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, His Excellency Matthias Hoepfner has opened the Civil-Military Interaction: Disaster Preparation and Response Workshop, which is taking place in Sofia, 11-13 February 2014. The event is under the patronage of George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies and co-hosted with the Crisis Management and Disaster Response Centre of Excellence (CMDR COE). The workshop is attended by representatives from civilian and military structures from 11 countries – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece , FYROM, Kosovo, Romania , Croatia, Montenegro and USA. In addition on the American side taking part are delegations from the National Guard of the states of Vermont, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey and Tennessee as part of the State Partnership Program.

The Final Planning Conference of the exercise Saber Guardian 14 was held in Sofia last week (3-7 Feb 2014). The CMDR COE experts headed by LtC Orlin Nikolov, head of Capabilities Branch, participated in the workshops of the Contingency Management Planning/Unified Action (CPM/UA) syndicate.

On February 5, 2015, the CPM/UA members met with representatives of several GOs and NGOs. The meeting was arranged by the CMDR COE and co-hosted with the J9 USEUCOM as there were entities as Bulgarian Ministry of Interior, Chief Directorate Fire Safety and Civil Protection, State Agency of National Security, State Agency for Refugees, Bulgarian Academy of Science, Military Medical Academy, Red Cross, Caritas Bulgaria, Gender Research Foundation, Tennessee National Guard, Bulgarian Modeling and Simulation Association (BULSIM). The purpose of the meeting was to present them the scenario and storyline of their engagement into the exercise.

The initial planning conference for the distributed computer assisted exercise South Eastern Europe Simulation Network (SEESIM 14) was held in Zagreb, Croatia. The Republic of Bulgaria is co-organizer and participates actively in the conducting of the exercise together with the Host Nation. Among the participants are also representatives of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Montenegro, Romania, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, United States of America and the SEEBRIG.

The exercise is held under the auspices of the Ministers of Defence of the SEE Nations.

• In 3-7 of February experts from the CMDR COE team will take part in the Final Planning Conference of the SABER GUARDIAN ′14 Exercise, organized by the US EUCOM and BGR LANDFORCE.

The purpose of the exercise is to train and educate civilian and military participants in planning and conducting an UN mandated Chapter VII Peace Operation/Crisis Response Operation, based on a Comprehensive Approach, and focusing on co-operation and co-ordination within an unstable environment, involving all stakeholders. The principal exercise focus is the civilian-military cooperation and coordination. The scenario supports exercising a wide range of peace operations functions (e.g. rule of law, humanitarian, etc.). The CMDR COE will contribute to achieving the exercise objectives by providing subject matter expert support in the CMDR area and by organizing distributed point for White cell.

• In 11-13 February 2014 the Civil-Military Interaction: Disaster Preparedness and Response Workshop will take place in Sofia. The workshop is sponsored by the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Bulgaria and the CMDR COE. The workshop comprises lectures dedicated to NATO and EU Crisis Management, role of military in civil security, risk management, as well as discussions and tabletop exercise.

The CMDR COE organised an internal seminar which was held on 20.12.2013. The main focus of the seminar was the crisis in Syria. The CMDR COE experts discussed issued related to the chronology of the crisis; the increased influx of refugees to neighbouring countries and Bulgaria; the positions of NATO, the UN and EU; the involvement of international humanitarian organisations etc.

On 11-12 December 2013, the Crisis Management and Disaster Response Centre of Excellence (CMDR COE) co-hosted together with US European Command (USEUCOM) and the US embassy in Bulgaria the workshop Visualizing Implications of Climate Change on Military Activities and Relationships. The opening remarks were given by the Deputy Minister of Defence of Bulgaria, Mr. Ivan Ivanov, who welcomed the participants and underlined the importance of the topics that the workshop focused on.