The Point Alpha Academy in Geisa, Thuringia, Germany served as venue for the Policy and International Security (POL&IS) Training Event, conducted for the first time in cooperation between U.S. Army Europe, the German Armed Forces State Command (Landeskommando) Hesse and the Point Alpha Foundation, June 25-28, 2017.
POL&IS is an interactive simulation, which focuses on political, economic, and ecological aspects of international policy. The POL&IS world is divided into thirteen regions, international actors, and nongovernmental organizations. The participants assume responsibility for an assigned position and have to negotiate contracts, solve conflicts, and respond to natural disasters according to international law.
Junior U.S. Army Europe officers, West Point cadets, German Army officers, international university students, and local national interns currently working at U.S. Army Europe participated, promoting the importance of international relations.
Bundeswehr Capt. Florian Kling, the POL&IS exercise director, stated that the simulation is supposed to portray international law's characteristics, as well as introducing the participants to international organizations, such as the UN.
The Bundeswehr, U.S. Army Europe, and the Point Alpha foundation cooperated on this project in order to enhance the German- American multinational partnership, which Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, Army Europe's commander, and German Brig. Gen. Kai Rohrschneider, Army Europe's chief of staff, elucidated in their speeches.
According to Rohrschneider, Germans and Americans have been anticipating new possibilities of interexchange in an effort to achieve a mutual understanding and strengthen the multinational bond between the two countries, especially in international exchanges between German and American troops.
"Simply to understand why the other sees certain things this way, why maybe some solutions are much more difficult, simply coming from the attitude that people bring to the problem […], to learn how to see the world beyond politics," Rohrschneider stated as response to his expectations for the simulation.
Hodges regarded POL & IS as a great opportunity to reflect on the importance of trust between the two countries, also referring to the significant historical importance of Point Alpha, being a former U.S. Army observation point during the Cold War, centrally located at the "Fulda Gap" between the NATO alliance and the Warsaw Pact.
"The relationship between Germany and the U.S. is essential for the stability and security in Europe," Hodges affirmed in his speech, believing that the participants "will value the importance of a relationship between two countries that need each other."
The participants strongly encouraged the continuation of this simulation training in the future. West Point cadet Noah Kambili stated that this opportunity enabled him to implement the theoretical approaches he has learned at West Point in this international environment, asserting that "the program could be expanded to get more participation from other cadets, as it would be a great way to show how West Point can prepare a young officer for possibly getting into foreign policy later on in his career."
POL&IS 2017 did not result in an international crisis, but rather provided the participants with valuable impressions. Participant Army 2nd Lt. Ellerbe, 18th Military Police Brigade, 15th Engineer Battalion FSC, epitomized the simulation as "a great opportunity to experience the challenges of global decision making," asserting that the participants "will move forward as young leaders with this [POL & IS] always on our minds."
---
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.
Social Sharing