2021 Iteration of EU Logistics Courses successfully concluded

The EU Military Staff (EUMS) and the Multinational Logistics Coordination Centre (MLCC) organised, under the auspices of the European Security and Defence College (ESDC), the European Union Logistics Fundamentals Course from 8 to 12 March 2021 and the European Union Logistics in Operations Course from 15 to 19 March 2021 in a virtual environment.

In 2019, these two organisations successfully carried out the pilot versions. Subsequently the ESDC Steering Committee agreed that these should become standard courses and be conducted on a regular basis.

Unfortunately, the COVID-19 crisis meant that the courses were cancelled in 2020. Given the high interest in this courses, in 2021 they were run in a virtual format.

Using a blended approach of self-paced asynchronous and synchronous sessions, the EUMS and MLCC managed to ensure that course participants achieved the proposed learning outcomes.

 

The aim of the EU Logistics Fundamentals Course (8-12 March 2021) was to provide participants with basic knowledge of EU logistics policies, principles, concepts, and procedures in CSDP missions and operations. The course was a prerequisite for the EU Logistics in Operations Course (15-19 March 2021), where more in-depth operational discussions were held.

The EU Logistics Fundamentals Course exposed the course participants to EU, NATO and UN logistics specificities and included topics of interest in the area of CSDP for both civilian and military participants.

The EU Logistics in Operations Course approached logistics as a functional input to planning for CSDP missions and operations. Using a fictitious scenario (ROPPERTA), experienced planners and functional experts facilitated discussions around key moments of planning and civilian-military interaction at the political-strategic (Crisis Management Concept, Strategic Options) and strategic level (CONOPS) by exploring the logistics implications.

 

With a good understanding of the modus operandi and insight into not only the EU CSDP logistics, but also those of NATO and the UN, the EUMS and MLCC brought a broad array of expertise and experience to these two courses. These capabilities proved to be extremely valuable in helping participants to visualise the common features and particularities of logistics architectures across multiple organisations and environments.

These courses are traditionally organised each year in spring.