NOWA DEBA, Poland -- The U.S. Army Europe Office of the Inspector General (IG) recently played a part in its first-ever multinational inspection with the Polish Armed Forces. The event took place during Common Challenge 16, a command post exercise for the Lithuanian-Polish-Ukrainian Brigade.
The multinational unit is a brigade-sized military unit that stands ready to conduct peace support and crisis response operations as directed by a United Nations Security Council mandate.
The U.S. Army Europe IG was invited to participate in the certification by the Polish chief of Control and Certification Division, Col. Miroslaw Potocki, who also served as the Multinational Certification Team (MCT) Chief. This partnership evolved through the strong relationship that that U.S. Army Europe IG has fostered with the Polish Armed Forces and other NATO Allies and Partners.
Several members of the USAREUR IG are certified in NATO combat readiness evaluation procedures, making them valued members to the MCT. The unit was comprised of 35 soldiers from four different countries
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The Illinois Army National Guard also participated in support of the State Partnership Program (SPP). Illinois is no stranger to Poland, as three of the four members already conducted operations with Polish Allies. The four Illinois Guard representatives proved critical in their areas of expertise and provided excellent feedback to the MCT.
The certification of the Lithuanian-Polish-Ukrainian Brigade headquarters was based on Allied Command Operations Forces Standards. The purpose of the inspections is solely to determine if a unit is 'combat ready' or 'not combat ready' to perform NATO operations. The primary purpose of U.S. Army IG inspections is to resolve systemic issues throughout the U.S. Army and, in doing so, evaluate the effectiveness of U.S. Army policies, determine the root causes of noncompliance, and recommend changes to policy proponents.
Maj. Carydaniel Cegledi and Chief Warrant Officer 5 Travis Hawkins represented the USAREUR IG. They had to learn about the technical agreements between the governments of Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine in direct support of the multinational brigade, as well as gain an understanding of internal logistic and financial directives, NATO financial regulations, and affiliated unit documents based on national requirements: all different from U.S. Army standards.
The inspectors evaluated the budget, finance, and logistics areas of operation and with 26 separate checklists, there was a lot of ground to cover in the many functions of a brigade. Inspectors focused much of their time on teaching as well as other MCT members during this process.
Interoperability is not just about radios, ammunition, and rail loads -- it's also about appreciation and understanding of NATO's many cultures, experiences, and capabilities. Being part of a multinational team absolutely provided that opportunity and the U.S. Army Europe Office of the Inspector General is a better organization for having participated.
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About us: U.S. Army Europe is uniquely positioned in its 51 country area of responsibility to advance American strategic interests in Europe and Eurasia. The relationships we build during more than 1,000 theater security cooperation events in more than 40 countries each year lead directly to support for multinational contingency operations around the world, strengthen regional partnerships and enhance global security.
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