GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany--Twenty-one NATO and Allied partner nations attended the second annual NATO Aviation Rotary Wing Summit, 1-3 Nov. 2016, here, at the Edelweiss Lodge and Resort conference center.
The purpose of the conference was to assess challenges to tactical interoperability, build training opportunities to meet those challenges and to foster trust through formal and social interactions.
The keynote speaker was Brig. Gen. Frank W. Tate, the Deputy Chief of Staff Operations, Multinational Corps Northeast, North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Tate's opening remarks stressed the importance of using the summit to advance interoperability in every aspect of rotary wing operations.
"It will take all of us and all of the rotary wing we can muster, working together, to meet the demand in the event of a high intensity conflict," said Tate.
The Summit took place at a strategic time of the year for most nations, before the annual Combined Training Conference (CTC). The CTC will take place in Oberammergau, where countries will commit to training events for FY 17 and beyond.
Senior leaders and aviators from Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, and Ukraine attended.
The conference used multiple small group sessions to address specific tactical challenges and limitations facing future training events. The subjects ranged from available training areas, MEDEVAC missions, attack operations and refuel procedures.
The dialogue shared between the nations established a framework for future joint interoperability, combined training opportunities, and a mutual understanding for improving freedom of maneuver throughout Europe.
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The 12th Combat Aviation Brigade trains and conducts aviation support across the full spectrum of unified land operations for United States Army Europe, European Command and our allied and NATO partners.
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