Representatives from 12 countries and organizations, including nine general officers from the United States, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Algiers, New Zealand, Britain, and Qatar. Representatives from NATO and the Joint Center for Operational Analysis (JCOA) also participated in this first-ever Middle East lessons learned event.
Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Abdelsalam Harazneh of the Jordan Armed Forces (JAF) said, "Hosting this conference by JAF reflects our sincere concerns to enhance the common cooperation with friend and brother countries and reflects our belief that encountering the future challenges requires collective effort not only at military level but also at all other levels. This cannot be achieved without sharing experience and knowledge because knowledge was power but today power is sharing that knowledge."
Presentations included the below topics, followed by in-depth discussion and sharing of lessons learned:
• Establishing a lessons learned capability
• Integrating lessons learned into training and doctrine
• The vital role of moderate Islam to counter fanatics (terrorists)
• Counterinsurgency and stability operation lessons learned
• How to successfully operate in a coalition environment
• The impact of cultural awareness on operations in Afghanistan
• Military support to civil authorities in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief
• Lessons learned from security and humanitarian situation on the northern border of Jordan
Representing the JAF HQ in the opening ceremony, Maj. Gen AlManaseer, the Operations Chief of Staff said, "the General Command of the JAF has realized the importance of establishing a center for studies and lessons learned to be one of the main catalysts for implementing the policy of development and modernization pursued by the JAF. This has been quite evident through the set objectives and duties assigned to JCSLL that depend on a transparent, courageous and pragmatic work-approach that has circulated the culture of self-criticism throughout the army formations, arms and services. JCSLL performs in a manner that ensures a contribution to upgrading the readiness and level of performance of the JAF at strategic, operational and tactical levels."
In his opening remarks, CALL Director Col. Thomas Roe said, "The years have also made it apparent that most, if not all, professional military members do not wish for war. Yet, unfortunately, war among humans has and will continue to occur for quite some time. At least a realist like me will believe this. Nevertheless, the development and use of military lessons learned and the sharing of them between partner nations will not only save the lives of individuals but also, if not prevent wars, at least help foster their conclusion."
In 2010, the General Headquarters of the JAF tasked Harazneh to establish the JCSLL to collect, analyze, disseminate, integrate, and archive all lessons learned--including training activities, operations and peacekeeping missions--and prepare required security studies that contribute to developing the JAF's performance.
He worked closely with CALL in building this lessons learned capability for the JAF. King Abdullah II personally attended the JCSLL opening ceremony on February 9, 2011. Since its opening, the JCSLL has quickly established itself as the premier lessons learned center in the region.
The JCSLL has produced numerous reports and performed after action reviews on a many of Jordan's military operations, including: female engagement teams (FET) and Imam teams deployed to Afghanistan; counterinsurgency and stability operations lessons learned from Afghanistan deployments; and lessons learned from security and humanitarian operations on Jordan's borders.
Currently, 1.2 million refugees from Syria and Iraq live in Jordan. The countries that attended the conference all have unique issues and challenges facing their armed forces. Each country openly shared and discussed their lessons learned enabling the participants to learn from each other and take those valuable lessons back to their armies.
In his comments on integrating lessons learned into training and doctrine, Gen. Shoubaki, the Training Chief of Staff, said, "there is now a clear cut methodology to integrate the lessons learned in a way that corresponds to our military traditions. Now, it is a tradition to hold after action review seminars after every training mission; such seminars have led us to decide on increasing the training dose concerning the newly introduced subjects, and rectifying some points in afterward training missions. We have 42 training institutes, colleges and schools; and there are development-boards that are liable to make improvements to curricula and pamphlets that take in the introduced lessons learned. We have issued work guidance-bulletins based on the introduced lessons learned, such as Battle Procedures Guide, and comprehensive SOPs. One of the introduced lessons learned has established for the pressing need to have an army structure that is compatible in its land, air and sea services with the allies and coalition forces."
Mr. Philip Andrews, CALL's representative to the JCSLL and project officer for the conference, explained that the idea for this conference came from a discussion between CALL and the JCSLL director about the outlook in both countries on dwindling resources.
"Hosting a regional lessons learned conference and leveraging our partner nations is a way to overcome these obstacles," Andrews said. "As a key U.S. partner and regional leader, Jordan was crucial in organizing and executing this conference, bringing Western and Middle Eastern allies together."
In his closing comments, Hasazneh said the conference exceeded expectations by bringing unique experiences and lessons learned to one forum for discussion and dissemination. Andrews stated that he is already planning next year's conference and has received inquiries from additional partner nations. He said the conference is a key building block in furthering U.S. security cooperation goals in fostering relationship with our partners.
Headquartered at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, the Mission Command Center of Excellence is a network of organizations that develops, integrates and synchronizes Leader Development, Army Profession and Mission Command requirements and solutions to prepare leaders and units to successfully exercise Mission Command during the execution of Unified Land Operations.
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