Category: Defense

On Tuesday 19 September, the Secretary General will participate in the opening of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. He will also have meetings with world leaders and high-level officials

On Thursday 21 September, the Secretary General will participate in a discussion at the Council on Foreign Relations. He will also attend the Transatlantic Dinner hosted by the Secretary of State of the United States, Mr. Antony J. Blinken.

Media coverage

• A transcript of the Secretary General’s remarks at the Council on Foreign Relations, as well as photographs, will be available on the NATO website.

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Organised to coincide with the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) trade exhibition, COMEDS’ delegates toured the exhibition and met with leading medical industry representatives on disruptive and digital technologies. Throughout the three-day plenary, delegates from Australia, Austria, Israel, Switzerland, New Zealand, Serbia, Ukraine and Invitee Sweden attended different sessions in person or via Video Teleconference.

The COMEDS Chair, Major General Tim Hodgetts, the United Kingdom’s Surgeon General, opened the official plenary session by welcoming participants from Allied Nations, partner organisations and countries as well as NATO representatives. In his opening remarks, the Chair stressed the committee’s mission to ensure that NATO’s Deterrence and Defence is underpinned by effective medical support and enablement. Major General Hodgetts then highlighted the four domains of particular interest to COMEDs following NATO’s Vilnius Summit: 

1. medical capabilities support to the Regional Plans and warfighting at scale, 
2. technological investment specifically digital transformation,
3. Global Partnerships and interoperability,
4. and Strengthened societal resilience. 

“As NATO moves forward translating these commitments into actions and activities, COMEDs needs to increase its support to both civilian and military entities across the organisation,” said Major General Hodgetts.

Delivering his keynote speech, Mr. Angus Lapsley, ASG DPP explained the role of the Defence Policy and Planning Division, NATO’s Defence Planning Process, and the significant impact of the Regional Plans for the military medical domain. Commending the COMEDS work, the Assistant Secretary General said: “You are playing an important role in positioning your community to strengthen medical planning and policy at the NATO level, raising awareness and providing advice on critical capability shortfalls, working hard to strengthen civil-military medical cooperation”. 

Admiral Sir Keith Blount, DSACEUR focused his keynote remarks on the medical challenges facing Allied forces in the event of Large Scale Combat Operations (LSCO), in light of Russia’s war against Ukraine and the challenging global security environment. DSACEUR further stressed the importance of the COMEDS Surgeon Generals engaging at the national level as the Regional Plans and tactical plans are further refined and developed. 

The extraction of medical lessons from the Ukraine war is underpinning COMEDS ongoing work regarding medical capabilities and requirements for warfighting at scale. Briefing the Committee, Major General Tetiana Ostashchenko, Ukraine’s Surgeon General, explained the current situation in Ukraine and stressed the importance of continued support from Allies and partners. The Ukrainian Surgeon General went on to highlight the importance of NATO –Ukraine Comprehensive Assistance Package for the development of Ukrainian rehabilitation services, especially regarding a substantive project that will be decisive in returning injured Service Personnel back to active duty. 

The COMEDS plenary saw sessions focused on medical support for Ukraine, the implementation of the Concept for the Deterrence and Defence of the Euro-Atlantic Area (DDA), Patient Flow Management guidance, Global Partnership, and Strengthened Resilience through civil-military collaboration. In addition, progress reports from selected COMEDS Working Groups and Panels were briefed to the plenary. The Chair remarked that many current work strands from the Blood Panel to the Military Mental Health panel were now at a level that required cooperation and support from external stakeholders such as the Joint Health Group, the European Union Military Staff, and the NATO Command Structure. 

Concluding the plenary, COMEDS delegates took advantage of the DSEI trade exhibition, to engage with Industry Partners and to participate in a planned DISruptive TECHnology discovery trail with subject matter experts and medical industry partners. “Interoperability and multi-nationality in medical provision assures common and best standards as well as buys out mutual risks of capability shortfalls”, stressed Major General Hodgetts. 
 

After being welcomed to Ørland by the Chief of Defence, General Eirik Kristoffersen and the Chief of the Air Force, Major General Rolf Folland, Admiral Bauer received a tour of the air base, which houses Norway’s F-35A and the Air Defence Battalion, as well search and rescue helicopters that operate all along the Norwegian coast and beyond.  Ørland is also the only air base in Scandinavia equipped to host NATO’s AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) aircraft, who use it when patrolling in the area. During his visit, the Chair was briefed on Norway’s approach to Nordic air defence, which entails an even closer cooperation with Finland, Sweden and Denmark and by reinforcing its air capabilities and plans. 

Arriving at the Akershus Fortress, the Chair joined General Kristoffersen for the traditional honour guard, led by His Majesty The King’s Guard, who have been protecting the Norwegian Royal Family since 1856. Admiral Bauer subsequently met with Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mrs Anniken Huitfeldt. The exchanges focused on the outcomes of the NATO Summit in Vilnius, the implications for Nations and the military, as well as the agenda for the impending NATO Military Committee Conference.

In his meeting with the Defence Minister Bjørn Arild Gram, Admiral Bauer spoke about the Regional Plans and their importance to NATO’s collective defence. “The plans agreed in Vilnius Plans will impact the development of all our armed forces for decades to come. Never before have NATO and national defence plans been so closely interlinked. We are taking bold steps to further strengthen our deterrence and defence posture but a strong collective defence must be underpinned by even stronger national defence”, underscored the Chair.

The official programme concluded with an audience with the HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, at the Royal Palace in Oslo. Discussions centered on the importance of fostering leadership in younger generations, the role defence industry has to play, not only in helping the Armed Forces become greener, but ensuring that production demands can be fulfilled in a timely manner, with minimal impact on national security and defence.