Author: cior_rothor

The CIOR Summer Congress Symposium “Russian War Against Ukraine” was attended by hundreds of congress participants from over 30 nations in Athens today. The Minister of National Defence of Greece Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos was among the keynote speakers.

By Capt. Christina Judd, U.S. Air Force Reserve/CIOR Public Affairs

The minister thanked the reserve forces for their participation in the annual meeting and for visiting Greece after the long hiatus.

The Minister spoke about the incredible need of reserve forces and emphasized that the Ukrainian reserves are currently fighting for their lives and their country. He said all reservists are uniquely motivated.

“You are called from deep inside and you are driven forward by sense of duty and love as a genuine volunteer force that galvanises us all in order to meet very challenging security issues,” Panagiotopoulos said.

The Ambassador of Ukraine to the Hellenic Republic, Sergil Shutenko, addressed the congress providing an intimate assessment of the current fight going on in Ukraine, noting they are in the 161st day of war. Shutenko credited the west’s swift military and humanitarian aid as a key factor in the fight against Russia’s unprovoked invasion.

“No one wanted this war, other than Russia,” said Shutenko. “No country in the world craves peace more than Ukraine.”

The Deputy Minister of Education of Greece, Angelos Syrigoa, drove home the international and security issues the current war is causing for the world. Syrigoa, a religious affairs professor of international law and foreign policy, discussed the problem of authoritarian leaders in the 21st century and the trickle-down effects their actions cause.

Tobias Gehrke from Egmont Institute said Europe and the west must protect and promote four geoeconomics elements during a time of war. He challenged members of CIOR to deter economic coercion, protect critical capabilities, shape global connectivity and boost emerging capabilities to safeguard sovereignty of nations and maintain rules-based order.

Paula Redondo from NATO’s Public Diplomacy Division gave a case study on analyzing the Russian invasion and its effect on the food and energy crises. Redondo said CIOR is a direct support to NATO, the strongest military alliance in the world.

The symposium was concluded with a case study presented by Major Dawn LeBlanc from CIOMR, the confederation for medical reservists. She and a team of 150 Canadian active and reserve forces provided medical support to Ukrainian refugees in Poland. Poland accepted over three million refugees in less than 60 days after Feb. 24. LeBlanc emphasised the need for roaming care and mental health workers to care for those who had experienced the atrocities of war.

More information about the 2022 Summer Congress in Athens can be found on our social media pages.

#nato #cior #reserves #reservists #visibilityandresilience #defence #defense #military #ciorseminar

Photos by Susanna Takamaa, 1st Lieutenant (R), Finnish Reserve Officers Association/ CIOR Public Affairs and Brig. gen. Erich Cibulka (R), Swiss Armed Forces.

Yet another successful CIOR Language Academy (CLA) has been completed, teaching English and French as a second language, emphasising a NATO military lexicon while at the same time providing an orientation towards CIOR.

By: Roy Thorvaldsen, Lt. Col (R), Norwegian Army/ CIOR Public Affairs.

The CLA took place at the Greek School of infrantry in Chalkida prior to the Summer Congress, and was completed on the 29th of July. It was the first courses to be held in two years, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The instructors, qualified reserve officers as well as skilled linguists and teachers, were provided by CIOR member nations and were selected through a competitive process.

The students were NATO reserve officers and active duty officers from Europe, USA and Canada. Through the CLA they have been provided with an essential and indispensable tool to carry out international NATO business – the ability to communicate in one of NATO’s two official languages.

The CLA runs annually for two weeks in a different host nation each time. Previous hosts include Estonia, Poland, Spain, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Moldova, Türkiye and The Republic of North Macedonia.

Students on both the English course (EFL) and French course (FFL) have the opportunity to qualify through the STANAG language examination run by Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) at level 2 and 3. This language qualification is required for careers and deployments within NATO, and is much sought after.

The Summer Congress opening ceremony took place at the Zappeion Megaron in Athens – a part of the national heritage of the Greek civilisation. Before that, wreaths were laid at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. By now, the first day and a half of meetings are also completed.

By: Roy Thorvaldsen, Lt. Col (R), Norwegian Army/ CIOR Public Affairs.
Photo: Susanna Takamaa, 1st Lieutenant (R), Finnish Reserve Officers Association/ CIOR Public Affairs.

The congress started with Council- and committee work on Monday morning, and continued into Tuesday. With the CIOR President’s remarks, status on the establishment of CIOR as a Legal Entity under Belgian law, and finances.

There was then an update on CIOR’s cooperation with the National Reserve Forces Committee/NRFC, CIOMR (the organisation for medical reserve officers) and CISOR (the organisation for non-comissioned officers), and a discussion on future presidencies and summer congresses – as well as CIOR’s orientation towards Cyber Defence and the establishment of a Cyber committee.

This was followed by a roundtable on Sweden and Finland becoming full members of CIOR once the countries’ NATO membership applications are accepted by the national assemblies of all the member nations of the Alliance.

Tuesday morning, representatives of all the participating national delegations visited the arena of the Military Competition (MILCOMP).

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The first normal Summer Congress in three years is about to start. In fact, several associated activities have already begun or taken place, with dozens of participants from across the national member associations.

By: Roy Thorvaldsen, Lt. Col (R), Norwegian Army/ CIOR Public Affairs

The civil-military exercise – CIMEX — started today, Friday 29 July, as a hybrid exercise with both personal attendance and digital participation. Last year’s digital ‘Covid-19 edition’ was a great success.

Thie year’s CIMEX theme: ”How do CIMIC Reservists support resilience in the immediate response to conflict and stabilisation after the conflict?”

The table-top exercise runs until Sunday, when the congress proper is kicked off with an opening ceremony, and wreath laying at the tomb of the unknown soldier.

Congress

The working sessions of the congress start Monday morning, and run until Friday lunchtime. In the middle, on Wednesday, the symposium takes place – exploring Russia’s war against Ukraine and among other perspectives looks at the reserves’ potential to strengthen a resilient NATO.

Language academy

The CIOR Language Academy (CLA) started already 18 July, and finishes today, 29 July. It has taken place at the “Velissariou Ioannis” Camp, located next to the port of the city of Chalkida. The CLA teaches English and French as a second language, emphasising a NATO military lexicon while at the same time providing an orientation towards CIOR.

Young reserve officer seminar

The Young Reserve Officer Seminar (YROS) was held in Romania in June. Over 30 participants from seven countries worked on improving their skills in intercultural leadership, diversity challenges in operations, NATO structure and activities, and concepts of human intelligence (HUMINT).

The YROS has three objectives: To improve organisational capability, to contribute to strenghtening collaboration between NATO and partner member states, and – not least – to improve the training of the nations’ young, volunteer reservists.

The YROS also has great emphasis on cultural exchange, buliding networks and devolping friendship across national borders.

Three-day military competition

Over 250 athletes participate in CIOR’s military pentathlon (MILCOMP) each year. Established in 1957, it is an internationally recognised competition, focused on military skills that truly challenge the leadership and physical robustness of reservist members from across the Alliance and its partner nations.

MILCOMP is a team competition, where each member must overcome the challenges together. It takes three-days and consists of pistol and rifle shooting, obstacle course and utility swimming and orienteering, with additional tasks like range estimation, map reading and hand grenade throwing.

The military competition provides company level officers and junior non-commisioned officers (NCOs) with the chance to create, build and strengthen relationships with peers from Allied and partner nations while allowing for individual professional development.

Promoting and enhancing NATO

CIOR contributes directly to NATO goals by promoting and enhancing cooperation and interoperability amongst Reserve Forces within and beyond NATO.

The CIOR Summer Congress Venue, Athenaeum Intercontinental. The congresses of CIOMR (for medical reservists) and CISOR (for non-commissioned officers) take place at the same time and place as CIOR’s main annual event. The latter is a result of a recent CIOR initiative to work in closer collaboration with CISOR.

One of the key events during the CIOR Summer Congress is the Civil Military Cooperation (CIMIC) Exercise, CIMEX. This year’s edition takes place between Friday 29 July and Sunday 31 July, at the InterContinental Athenaeum hotel in Athens.

By: Roy Thorvaldsen, Lt. Col (R), Norwegian Army/ CIOR Public Affairs

Built on last year’s huge success when the exercise was organised solely with digital attendance, the 2022-edition will be a hybrid version with both face-to-face and virtual participation.

This year’s theme is: “How do CIMIC reservists support resilience in the immediate response to conflict, and stabilisation after the conflict?”

How to sign up

For those interested in attending in person, follow this link to sign up and pay the attendance fee: https://www.viva.gr/tickets/conference/cior-summer-congress-en/
For those interested in attending online, contact organiser Major (R) Zoe Stewart, UK Army, on zoe.stewart917@mod.uk

The objectives:

• Provide an opportunity to build awareness of the
role of the CIMIC Officer in Civil Preparedness (Civil
Emergency Planning)

• Provide an opportunity to act as a CIMIC Officer as
part of a NATO table top exercise simulating NATO
HQ

• Provide an opportunity to understand how Civil
Preparedness is implemented across NATO

• Build awareness of the skills required to be a good
CIMIC Officer

The event takes place over 2 1/2 days, and is a NATO approbated, table top exercise.

NATO’s Article 3

NATO’s article 3 on civil preparedness will be applied. The governing principles are: health, government, energy supplies, food and water, communications and transport.

There will be presentations from Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), an introduction to NATO doctrine, case studies, and of course the exercise – which evolves around challenges working in multinational headquarters.

Both ‘technical’ CIMIC skills and cultural experience are important in this line of military work.

Photo: Norwegian soldiers in the Telemark Task Force on a CIMIC mission in Kabul, 2004.