Logistics units from 30 nations gathered together in northern Poland from late May to mid-July in order to “exercise multinational logistics and to enhance interoperability among nations.”  Planned and coordinated by the Multinational Logistics Coordination Centre (MLCC) in Prague, and supported by Poland as Host Nation (HN), Exercise CAPABLE LOGISTICIAN 2019 (CL19) served as an opportunity to train NATO and Partner Nations, NATO Command Structure (NCS), and NATO Force Structure (NFS), among others.  CL exercises are conducted, typically, every two years, with participation varying according to nations’ willingness and availability.  A large part of the value of the exercise comes from the reporting of the Evaluation, Analysis, and Reporting Cell (EARC), which uses a team of functional area experts (areas include water, fuel, smart energy, and ammunition, among others) to make observations, analyses, and evaluations of various parts of the exercise.  The results of this work are pulled together in a final exercise report, using the NATO Lessons Identified format, to make recommendations directly to the various standardization boards and working groups within the NATO Military Committee. 

To support the EARC's process and products, the JALLC has deployed a small team of civilian and military analysts to CL iterations in 2013, 2015, and 2019.  The JALLC team plays a key role by integrating into the EARC, ensuring the quality of the data collected, and providing the analytical support to bring the bigger "NATO picture" to the functional area experts’ individual observations.  The work of the EARC at each of these exercises has resulted in over 50 different observations across logistics functional areas and even more recommendations.  In fact, over 90% of the recommendations from the CL15 report were endorsed by the Nations through the Military Committee, resulting in direct input and improvements to NATO military doctrine, tactics, and procedures at the heart of NATO standardization and interoperability.  The final reporting from CL19 will be no different and is expected in autumn 2019.