Árpád Pohl, dean of the Faculty of Military Sciences and Officer Training has signed a V4 training cooperation agreement in Warsaw on the 13th of November, together with fellow representatives of military higher education institutions from Visegrad countries. The aim of the cooperation is enhancing interoperability, something that is urged by NATO as well.
The main objective of the initiative signed by the Armed Forces Academy of General Milan Rastislav Štefánik, War Studies Academy in Warsaw, University of Defence in Brno, and the National University of Public Service is teaching the art of Operational Planning Process – OPP. According to the opinion of the participants, this programme could further expand into a future towards an MSc. level cooperation as well.
The programme, which has been in spirit supported by the Leadership Academy in Hamburg as well, would like to develop a regional capability that allows for the further education of V4 and V4+ university lecturers. The materials of the programme provide a suitable framework for a successful participation in operational planning, and it helps understanding the main processes and task in such an undertaking. The experiences gained in such a training help modernize Msc. level educational materials, and also helps in joining the processes in operational planning according to V4 and national standards.
Since the Slovakian Armed Forces Academy of General Milan Rastislav Štefánik has been recognized as Partnership Training and Education Centre – PTEC of NATO, the participants of the programme receive a diploma officially accepted by NATO. This is going to allow the participants to teach their own students according to high NATO standards.
The partnership also allows for the exchange of students and staff, the training of NATO compatible operational planning professionals, the development of static training materials, knowledge transfer and the joint development of educational materials, publication opportunities, and the creation of a joint MSc. module.
The heard of the War Studies Academy in Warsaw offered the representatives present that they may take part in the Common Joint Effort, operational planning exercise held annually in cooperation with the Baltic Defence College. According to Article 5. of the exercise, it focuses on the execution of traditional area defence tasks. The integration of the Faculty of Military Sciences and Officer Training into this exercise provides a great opportunity for the graduates of the operational planning training, and the students of the Military Leadership MSc. programme to applies their knowledge in practice.
Text: Zoltán Jobbágy
Photo: War Studies University