On 20 September 2017, NATO’s Joint Analysis and Lessons Learned Centre (JALLC) celebrated its 15th anniversary with staff and distinguished guests including Ambassadors of Allied Nations, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT), General Denis Mercier, and the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
The anniversary was marked by an official ceremony (full video available below) at the JALLC's headquarters on the Portuguese Air Force base in Monsanto, Lisbon where the JALLC's Commander, Brigadier General Mário Barreto, SACT, and the President addressed the audience.
The JALLC Commander noted in particular that, although the JALLC is technically a backward looking organization as it analyses lessons from the past, it continuously works with an eye on the future, directly and indirectly contributing to NATO's transformation though its analysis reports and through its work as custodian of the NATO Lessons Learned Portal, NATO's centralized hub for all things related to understanding how NATO can learn from its exercises and operations.Full JALLC Commander speech available here.
SACT noted that the JALLC's data collection and analysis capabilities are invaluable to the transformation of the Alliance and that the JALLC is expected to play a key role as NATO adapts for the future. He explained that translating lessons into usable data for the benefit of the whole Alliance, through the NATO Lessons Learned Portal, will be paramount to NATO's efforts to meet challenges now and in the future. Full SACT speech available here.
Finally, the President closed the speeches with an address that reminded the audience of the fact that Portugal was one of the founding Nations of NATO and is proud to be an Ally. He also noted that although times may have changed since its inception, NATO has changed with the times and remains as relevant as ever stating that although Portuguese Presidents and governments may come and go, Portugal’s commitment to NATO would remain the same.
Several members of the JALLC were presented with certificates recognizing their service to the JALLC over the past 5, 10, and 15 years, and two medals were awarded by the President to JALLC staff members for distinguished service. The formal ceremony ended with the President unveiling a plaque commemorating the JALLC's 15th anniversary in the headquarters lobby.
In conjunction with the anniversary the JALLC published a book celebrating, 15 Years of the JALLC explaining the organization’s mission and activites, as well as celebrating 15 years of achievements. A special edition of the JALLC's newsletter, The 2017 Explorer Special Edition, was also published, including both academic and personal articles written by JALLC staff members.
These special JALLC publications are also the first written products to display the JALLC's new shield which has been developed in conjunction with the 15th anniversary to better reflect the organization’s present role, activities, and place within the Alliance. You can read more about the new shield in the special edition of The 2017 Explorer Special Edition where the meaning behind the symbols on the shield is explained.