Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC) hosted the NATO Joint Medical Planner Course (JMPC), Nov. 14-18, marking the first time the course has launched outside the NATO School Oberammergau (NSO), in southern Germany.
According to NATO’s website, the week-long course provides fundamental medical support planning knowledge for medical support planner's appointed to NATO-Multinational Headquarters or as national medical support planners that interact with the NATO Command structure.
Thirty-Five students, composed of Service Members from the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army from across Europe, attended the course, which was instructed by a mobile education team from NSO consisting of U.S. Navy and British instructors, covering various aspects of operational planning including comprehensive operational and medical planning, NATO planning processes, and planning in various environments and conditions.
While the course focuses on allied operations, it also aims to broaden planning operations to consider multi-domain concepts and battlefields.
“There are numerous resources here in Europe at our disposal if we take the time and put in the work and effort to coordinate,” said U.S. Army Capt. Collin Welch, a company commander at LRMC and one of the facilitators of the course. “The NATO School has been very supportive in bringing their instructors over to Landstuhl to provide training and more than willing to work with us. Germany sits in the center of Europe, as we move toward the future, inoperability among NATO Allies will become even more vital.”
Although U.S. Army 1st. Lt. Madison Labo has been planning medical operations for over a year at U.S. Army’s Theater Service Component Command – U.S. Army Europe and Africa, the course provided a different perspective in medical planning and preparation.
“The material is interesting. I was hoping to learn a little bit about what NATO does, but I learned so much more and made so many more connections than I expected,” said Labo, a native of San Diego. “(Students) are coming from all different backgrounds. The level that I work at and the medical plans I do daily are different from a physician assistant or doctor at a hospital.”
In addition to considering various echelons of medical capability, Labo added the course introduced her to thinking about medical responses beyond the ground, where the Army traditionally operates, to medical assets in the air and sea services as well.
“Operations are surprisingly different from the Army and the course helps you think on that level,” added Labo.
Following feedback from students and instructors, LRMC staff are planning another iteration of the course next year, with plans to involve allied partners as well.
“If we can provide valuable training to our Service Members that introduce them to NATO policies, provide tools and resources on NATO procedures, and an understanding of NATO structure then it makes it that much easier to integrate with our Allies,” said Welch.
Social Sharing