CMDR COE turns 5!
Date: (31-03-2020)
Dear CMDR Community,
Since its accreditation as the 21st NATO`s Centre of Excellence in 2015, the CMDR COE has been incessantly improving its capacity to serve as a hub of crisis management and disaster response expertise within a cooperative Community of Interest in support of NATO’s adaptive transformation. Our 2019 Quality Assurance certified by NATO SACT has brought us pride in our progress yet made us ever more cognisant of the responsibility for setting and upholding ever higher standards of performance and achievements.
The CMDR COE’s area of responsibility, clearly seen through the lens of the complexity of the present security environment, and the absolute necessity of as comprehensive as possible an approach to tackling challenges, is of critical importance for the Alliance, also forming part of its strategic core tasks. The CMDR COE has solidified its position as a constructive partner and as a valuable tool for enhancing civilian and military CMDR capabilities within NATO, Allies’, and Partners’ crisis management systems.
During these 5 years, the Centre has generated a wealth of information, has identified lessons-learned, and recorded and shared good practices in an ever increasing effort of improving interoperability and strengthening collaborative partnerships among key CMDR stakeholders. Likewise, the CMDR COE has participated in, hosted, organised, and co-organised an array of events among which its resident courses; workshops; seminars, and conferences. The CMDR COE staff members are continuously building their personal expertise so as to be in a position to confidently share it within our Community of Interest.
Inter alia, the CMDR COE’s Education & Training initiatives on resilience; on gender mainstreaming; on climate change; the research products on mass migration, gender equality, and climate change are indicative of the CMDR COE’s understanding of the importance of cross-cutting matters within a framework of a comprehensive approach to peace and security. The Centre also successfully capitalises on modern technology having a fully operational modelling and simulation (M&S) laboratory.
Through its Annual Conference on Interagency Interaction, the CMDR COE nurtures collaborative partnerships premised on good practices and constructive exchange.
We are continuously improving our resident course and developing new training solutions, including recently launching our Advanced Distributed Learning platform with courses already open for registration. Our mobile training teams have been involved in a number of exercises and trainings in different countries. We are serving as a Discipline leader in CSDP training for discipline Military Contribution to EU Disaster Response, Humanitarian Assistance and Civil Preparedness.
Over the years, the Centre has established close cooperation within NATO and the EU, noteworthy with the Supreme Allied Command Transformation, SHAPE, the Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC), the Allied Joint Force Command - Naples, the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department (ECHO), and with other relevant stakeholders such as the US European Command, the George Marshall Centre, US Federal Emergency Management Agency.
With the unwavering support of our Framework and Sponsoring Nations, we stand ready to meet challenges and seize opportunities which to take us ahead on our mission to contribute to shaping better, more inclusive and integrated CMDR.
I would like to thank all CMDR COE staff members - former and present, for their enthusiasm, determination and zeal in pursuing the vision of our Centre, and to wish them continuous success in all our future endeavours.
Congratulations!
Col. Orlin Nikolov
CMDR COE Director
News
High level visits in the CMDR COE and SABER GUARDIAN exerciseU.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.
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CMDR COE participates in the Saber Guardian 2014 ExerciseU.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.
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A Mobile Training Team (MTT) has conducted a Crisis Management and Disaster Response Workshop 17-19 Feb 14, Larissa, GreeceA 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:
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Civil-Military Interaction: Disaster Preparation and Response Workshop has been opened and conductedA 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.
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The Final Planning Conference of the exercise Saber Guardian 14 has finished successfullyThe 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.
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The initial planning conference for the SEESIM 14 exercise was held in Zagreb, CroatiaThe 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.
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CMDR COE FEBRUARY Forthcoming events- 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.
Internal CMDR COE Seminar on the Crisis in SyriaThe 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.
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Visualizing Implications of Climate Change on Military Activities and Relationships was conductedOn 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.
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