For the first time, the NATO-ICI Regional Centre and the US Embassy host the CAPSTONE seminar for US flag officers.
The Head of the NATO Office at the NIRC, Nora-Elise Beck, said on Thursday during the opening of the CAPSTONE seminar for newly promoted US generals and admirals, that NATO and Kuwait cooperate closely at the Centre, involving various Kuwaiti government agencies and NATO entities.
The NIRC hosted the event, organized in collaboration with the US Defense Attache and Senior Defense Official Col. Lamont Jubeck and the US Embassy.
Beck pointed out that NATO’s Istanbul Cooperation Initiative allows GCC countries to engage with NATO members on different topics, such as cyber defense, defense against terrorism, maritime security, and civil preparedness. The initiative was established 20 years ago (in 2004) to provide countries in the Gulf Region and NATO Allies with the opportunity to collaborate on shared security challenges and threats.
Kuwait’s government established the NATO-ICI Regional Center
in 2017 to serve GCC countries and engage with their NATO counterparts. Beck said that NATO celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, a significant milestone in the history of international security and defense cooperation.
The NIRC Director, Mohammed Al-Oraifan, proudly said that the NIRC has successfully organized public diplomacy events and training courses, e.g. on maritime security, with experts and instructors from NATO, as well as regional and local partners, instilling confidence in the Centre’s capabilities.
Al-Oraifan pointed out that the NIRC plays a pivotal role in hosting significant events related to the region, targeted to a high-level audience. Since last April, for example, the NIRC hosted a conference on climate change and security, a study day on food security, and a NATO Talk involving NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy, Ambassador Boris Ruge. Now, the NIRC is proud to host its very first CAPSTONE seminar.
CAPSTONE is a programme run by the US
National Defense University. It is a five-week course that ensures newly selected US generals and flag officers understand the fundamentals of joint doctrine and joint operational art, preparing them for the complex and evolving nature of modern warfare.
CAPSTONE fellows learn how to integrate the elements of national power to accomplish national security and national military strategies and how joint, interagency, and multinational operations support national strategic goals and objectives.
CAPSTONE focuses on working as a unified team across service branches, agencies, and nations to achieve shared national security goals. In addition to classroom seminars, CAPSTONE fellows engage in overseas field studies to understand regional security concerns, capabilities of allied and partner forces, and critical issues facing US combatant commanders.
Source: Kuwait News Agency