Tom Middendorp, The Hague

The sharing of high-cost services enables us to maintain our core capabilities Mission sharing – the fruit of trust between allies

by General Tom Middendorp, Chief of Defence (CHOD), The Hague

History holds few examples of conflicts between just two adversaries. Having allies strengthened the position of a country when countering threats and was seen as crucial to survival. Throughout history, alliances were built on the same key factors that are still relevant to effective cooperation in today’s missions: mutual trust, respect and interest; a degree of pragmatism; and the awareness that mission objectives cannot be achieved by going it alone. It is about teamwork, and thus interoperable capabilities.

Defence cooperation through the years Consequently cooperation is a principle for all seasons. However, the playing field has recently changed and the players must therefore adapt to the new conditions. Prior to the 21st century, the overall characteristics of conflicts were relatively straightforward. Threats were highly visible and citizens of nations in conflict could “feel” the threat. They knew that their peaceful existence was at stake if the alliance their country was part of were to lose the conflict. Our grandparents’ generation would have had no doubts in expressing both the necessity of allies and confidence in alliances. Times have changed. Most Europeans now do not have the same fear for their existence that our grandparents had. Former adversaries are now allies and threats are not as visible or as close to home.

New challenges in the 21 st

century People are now focused on other problems, such as the current economic crisis. In such a climate, it is tempting to take our security for granted and to shift our focus to seemingly more urgent national matters. Some might even argue that dangers are now at a minimum, and that consequently all countries should easily be able to fend for themselves.

But is this true? Although no direct threat of a large-scale conflict may be foreseeable in the near future, such a threat cannot be entirely discounted. Meanwhile, new threats have come to the fore and our security and welfare have become more dependent on stability in other regions in the world. Through globalisation, the world has become a complex of sub-systems in which interdependence has increased and traditional boundaries are fading. Though less visible and with more indirect effects, new sources of insecurity are emerging all over the world, especially in fragile and failed states. Many of the resulting threats originate from non-state actors and we see their effects in terrorism, piracy, cyberspace etc. In facing these threats, we need to stand shoulder to shoulder alongside each other, now more than ever. Not just because we feel the limitations caused by shrinking national defence budgets, but simply because it is the most effective way of protecting ourselves and because our mutual interests are at stake.

Building capabilities and confidence There are many aspects of defence cooperation. For me as Netherlands Chief of Defence, the most pressing area of cooperation is that of our common operations. We have to be able to conduct combined operations, increasingly also on the tactical level. Wherever our men and women operate, be it at sea, in the air or on the ground, flawless cooperation and interoperability are crucial for the successful delivery of desired effects and for keeping our troops as safe as possible. In this context, net-centric “plug and play” operations demand a high level of interoperability. At the pragmatic level, away from policy considerations and debates, our military organisations already successfully demonstrate interoperability and smooth and respectful cooperation on a daily basis. It works because they know that they can rely on each other and have confidence in, among other things, the skills, equipment and mindset of partners. But that is not something that can be taken for granted. It is

General Tom Middendorp has been Chief of Defence (CHOD) of the Netherlands since June 2012. He was born in Rheden, the Netherlands, in 1960. His military career began in 1979 at the Royal Military Academy in Breda. In 1997, he was assigned the post of military assistant to the Deputy Chief of the Netherlands Defence Staff. As first commander of 101 Engineer Battalion in Wezep, he was responsible for commanding it through 14 deployments as in Bosnia, Macedonia, Afghanistan and Iraq from 2001 onwards. After his promotion to colonel, he was posted to the Ministry of Defence as policy coordinator, advising the Minister on national deployment of the armed forces. Towards the end of 2006, he was deployed to Afghanistan as Senior Political Adviser and Deputy NATO Senior Civil Representative (SCR). Prior to being appointed Director of Operations at the Defence Staff in The Hague General Middendorp was Commander Task Force Uruzgan in Afghanistan.

Ceremony in honour of the German Netherlands Corps and work in the headquarters

photos: German/Netherlands Corps, cc

38 something that we have to invest in. As soon as we are able to have full confidence in each other, at all levels, we will be able to deliver maximum output in operations and crises.

Widespread and diverse cooperation International military cooperation, then, is not just an option, but a necessity. Not only during missions such as Atalanta, ISAF and KFOR, but also in developing and sustaining our capabilities. The Netherlands is in favour of a healthy mix of both the top-down and bottom-up approaches. With the topdown approach, we see good opportunities in the fields of interoperability, knowledge and doctrine, shared services and niche capabilities. Together, we can afford capabilities that we cannot afford separately. Together, we can maintain the knowledge base needed to both develop doctrine and exploit technological developments. Together, we can share high-cost services enabling us to maintain our core capabilities.

The bottom-up approach is more appropriate at the tactical and operational levels between neighbouring countries, where distances are short, language and cultures are similar and defence cooperation is more intensive. Areas such as education and training, sustainment, tactical doctrine and crisis response are most suitable for this type of approach. As far as the bottom-up approach is concerned, the Netherlands has successfully engaged in projects, in particular with Germany and the BENELUX partners, while at the same time exploring possibilities for further projects. BENESAM, 1 (NL/GE) Corps, CIMIC CoE, SAC C-17, EATC and the UK/NL Amphibious Force are among the most well-known examples of cooperation with strong Dutch involvement. For us, the long-lasting fighter training programme with the US at Fort Hood is a good example of vital bi-national cooperation. The Netherlands is willing to take things a step further and move from cooperation to integration of capabilities, seeking the boundaries of sovereignty. Important potential areas for enhanced collaboration in this respect are, for example, cyber defence, fire-support, UAS and the air-to-air refueling project, where France, Germany and the Netherlands provide a platform for pooled procurement and operation of this important capability. In all of these projects, mutual trust and a steadfast will to make things work are the keys to success.

To deliver or not to deliver – that is the question Defence cooperation also faces risks and challenges. Firstly, it is not a one-way street; it gets tricky when partners do not benefit equally and no longer see cooperation as a unity of effort. It is crucial to focus on critical shortfalls and identify win-win situations, from which we all benefit. Having collective capabilities but no common political ground to actually use them would lead to ineffective defence cooperation and could even create a false sense of security, as the means may be available but not easily deployable. What is key is the willingness to seek the limits of sovereignty and to focus on identifying and further exploiting win-win situations where every participating nation delivers and receives its fair share.

European defence is on the table Defence cooperation in the field of capability development will be addressed during the December 2013 EU Council Summit. A rare chance and opportunity to underline the importance of an active Common Security and Defence Policy and to do justice to the importance of the topic that is on the table today: European Defence. Here, we should be ready to answer the abovementioned challenges. As the Netherlands Minister of Defence, Mrs Hennis-Plasschaert, rightfully pointed out at the recent Munich Security Conference: “What we need above all is leadership, long-term commitment and courage”.