The CIOR autumn meeting (In-Between-Meeting/IBM) wrapped up Wednesday 27 November, after two and a half days of discussing on-going business. The final day of the meeting consisted mainly of progress reports from various CIOR committees.
By: Lt Col Roy Thorvaldsen, Norwegian Army, Chairman CIOR Public Affairs Committee
The committees that presented their status reports on Wednesday were the Language Academy Committee, the Young Reserve Officer Committee, the Military Competition Committee and the Public Affairs Committee.
The latter presented the first version of the organisation’s new Communication Plan.
This was followed by an update on the next CIOR event, the Mid-Winter-Meeting (MWM), which takes place at NATO HQ the 3rd week of February – before the President brought it all to conclusion with the ‘Summary of meeting outcomes’.
NATO Reserve Forces Committee
From the Tuesday NRFC status update to the CIOR Council in Edinburgh.
On Tuesday the Secretary General of the NATO Reserve Forces Committee (NRFC) Col Grzegorz Krawczyk visited, along with the 1st Assistent Secretary General Lt Col Zenon Walinski, to give an update on NRFC’s on-going business.
CIOR and NRFC now work more closely together than they have done for several years. Key to this reinvigorated relationship is the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two parties, signed at the last MWM at NATO HQ.
NRFC Secretary General, Colonel Grzegorz Krawczyk (number 3 from right), engaged in discussion with the US CIOR Vice President/Head of delegation, Brigadier General Michael J. Silva (far left). | Good tone: CIOR President Colonel Chris Argent (Retd) conversing informally with NRFC Secretary General Colonel Grzegorz Krawczyk and 1st Asst SecGen Lt Colonel Zenon Walinski. |
Other key issues discussed Tuesday included the possible establishment of a Reserves cell at NATO’s operational headquarters, Supreme Headquarteres Allied Powers Europe/SHAPE with liaison to CIOR; Cyber; Legal structure & review of constitution (for MWM 2020); ‘CIOR 2025’; the ‘Future Young Reserve Officer’ project; the new CIOR ‘Workplace’ collaboration portal CIOR Connect; development of an online learning program.