Ulm, Germany – Representatives of 22 NATO member states and Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) came together on August 3, 2021 for the constitutive meeting of the Joint Support and Enabling Command's (JSEC) Senior Policy and Resources Committee (SPRC), the highest decision-making body of the JSEC. Like with many meetings before, Covid-19 also pushed most participants of this conference into the digital world, as the hybrid meeting was conducted on-site in the Wilhelmsburg Barracks in Ulm as well as via video conference.
After JSEC's activation as an International Military Headquarters on July 14, 2021, along with the signing of the Technical Administrative Arrangement (TAA) on May 14, 2021, all prerequisites were finally in place for the establishment of the SPRC.
The SPRC meeting marks another step towards our full readiness in September.
This committee consists of representatives of the participating nations and is authorized to decide on all matters concerning the administration, policy, manning, as well as operational and financial issues of the JSEC, including the annual budget. Due to Germany being JSEC's Framework nation, the German Ministry of Defence is the responsible authority to run the panel.
Lieutenant General Jürgen Knappe, Commander of the JSEC, welcomed Colonel David Markus, deputy chairman of the JSEC SPRC, in the Wilhelmsburg Barracks' meeting venue and emphasized the importance of the SPRC and the budget proposals to be discussed in the meeting.
"The major milestone in the development of the Joint Support and Enabling Command has been reached. We are now an International Military Headquarters and today the SPRC meeting marks another step towards our full readiness in September," explained the Commander.
Knappe also added: "The budget discussions are essential for allowing the JSEC to demonstrate reinforcement. sustainment and enablement of NATO Forces during peace, crisis and conflict."
JSEC Commander Lieutenant General Jürgen Knappe (middle), together with his Chief of Staff, Brigadier General Arco Solkesz (left), welcomes the deputy chairman Colonel David Markus (right) to the constitutive SPRC meeting in Ulm. (JSEC Photo by Senior Airman Bastian Süpple, DEU AF)
Representatives of 22 NATO member states and the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe joined the meeting to talk about JSEC's budget for 2021. (JSEC Photo by Senior Airman Bastian Süpple, DEU AF)
Due to the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions, most participants joined the meeting using the digital path.(JSEC Photo by Senior Airman Bastian Süpple, DEU AF)
Focus areas of the discussions were JSEC's shared budget for the ongoing financial year, the Medium Term Financial Plan and the job descriptions of JSEC's peacetime manning requirement.
The budget for the year of 2022 will be addressed in the second SPRC meeting which is scheduled for November.