Today marks the 22^nd anniversary of the JALLC. And although it’s not a special anniversary, it is still a special day for all of us who work at the JALLC. It’s a day to celebrate the achievements of the past year as well as reflect on how we can improve.

 

 

 

 

The past year has been as busy as usual, just scroll through the JALLC’s Newsroom and you’ll find a wealth of articles on our analysis products, Lessons Learned activities and key events such as the NATO Lessons Learned Conference. NATO’s 75^th anniversary celebrations, as well as visits from high-level NATO entities such as the Military Committee and the Operations Policy Committee and from our newest Member Sweden and our Partner Ukraine. Below we’ve listed some highlights. You can click on the links to find out more:

Russia’s war against Ukraine

We have done a lot to develop and enhance our work related to supporting, on the one hand: NATO's efforts to learn lessons from Russia’s war against Ukraine and on the other hand: Ukraine’s efforts to develop their national lessons learned capability. We’ve produced various analysis and Lessons Learned summary reports for NATO that are being used to inform NATO doctrine and exercises.  We have had multiple engagements supporting our Ukrainian counterparts in understanding NATO’s approach to Lessons Learned and supporting the development of their national capability.

And we launched the JALLC-Ukraine Initiative which has been well received by the LL- and wider NATO community and will be able to provide support and contribute to the new NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training, and Education Centre which was approved at the Washington Summit earlier this year.

 

Training and Outreach

Did you know that the JALLC sends out Advisory Training Teams to NATO and Partner Entities to provide tailored lessons learned training and to help them implement the NATO Lessons Learned Capability? You can find out more about this type of outreach and engagement here.

The JALLC also provides training to Lessons Learned staff through its selection of courses such as the NATO Lessons Learned Staff Officers Course. On average, the JALLC trains over 700 staff members per year, ensuring that NATO and Partner staff are fully versed in the NATO Lessons Learned Capability.

JALLC Analysis

The JALLC  produces over 15 analysis reports each year. That’s over one report a month on average. The topics of these reports cover a wide range of topics relevant to NATO such as our reports on Operation Allied Solace and Technical Exploitation of Battlefield Evidence, as well as our lessons summary reports on Lessons from Ukraine for example.

The Explorer

If you haven’t already downloaded a copy of the JALLC’s flagship publication: The Explorer, then you really should. Click here to down load the packed edition on Lessons Learned and Digital Transformation that has been the most successful edition of this magazine to date. The next edition is due at the end of 2024 and looks set to be another bumper edition of this topical magazine.

 

 

New Member: Sweden

We welcomed Sweden to NATO and to the JALLC in a special flag raising ceremony that saw the Swedish Flag join the other NATO Members’ flags in the JALLC’s lobby.

 

 

The NATO Lessons Learned Conference

This year we held another very successful edition of the NATO Lessons Learned Conference, with an agenda boasting some very high level speakers including the Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine. From hologram appearances from HQ SACT to doubling Stefan’s capabilities with an avatar, we once again provided the Lessons Learned Community with content that was relevant, on topic, and that will contribute to their knowledge and experience. Click here to watch the summary video of this prestigious event on the NATO Lessons Learned Calendar.

NATO’s 75^th Anniversary

It might not be a special anniversary for the JALLC, but it was a very special anniversary for NATO. 75 years ago this year, the founding members took the decision to work together as a collective defence alliance after the horrors of World War II.

We celebrated NATO’s 75^th anniversary, here at the JALLC with our Host Nation, Portugal, in a fitting ceremony that looked back at NATO’s history and Portugal’s commitment to the Alliance as a founding member. Click here to watch the video about this event.

JALLC Change of Command

This year we said goodbye to JALLC Commander Commodore Fernando Artilheiro (Portuguese Navy), who manned the helm of the JALLC for two years, and we welcomed Commodore Antonio Neves Correia (Portuguese Navy) who will take over for the remaining year of Portugal’s term commanding the JALLC.  The JALLC is a 1* Command in Allied Command Transformation with just 49 permanent members of staff. It has a rotating command between Portugal and Romania which means that every three years, the nationality of the commander will change.

Commodore Neves Correia took the command of the JALLC in the traditional change of command ceremony, which see the flag of the JALLC pass from the outgoing commander, via a representative of HQ Supreme Allied Command Transformation (HQ SACT) (the JALLC’s superior command), to the incoming commander. You can watch the video of the ceremony here.

 

Today we celebrated the JALLC’s birthday in true family style: with a traditional Portuguese barbeque and, of course, a birthday cake. We also had another reason to celebrate together as Stefan Olaru, a research analysts in the JALLC’s Lessons Learned Management Division, received a well-deserved commendation from the Chief of Staff of HQ SACT. Commending is outstanding service and his analysis, decision-making, and problem-solving skills, the commendations notes in particular Stefan’s work on the recent JALLC report on Command and Control in Multi-Domain Operations that has gone on to directly contribute to related doctrine, planning, and guidance for NATO’s two Strategic Commands.

We congratulate Stefan and we wish the JALLC a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY.