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Category Archives: NATO

Virginia company to help NATO train Afghan troops

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WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- NATO is to receive advisory and assistance services from a U.S. counterterrorism company in the training of Afghanistan's national security forces.

Virginia-headquartered A-T Solutions said its services -- on the strategic and tactical levels -- would be conducted from the International Security Assistance Force and Resolute Support mission headquarters in Kabul, the Afghan capital.

Resolute Support is the name given by NATO to its training and assistance activities in the country following termination of direct involvement of NATO forces in combat operations against the Taliban. The U.S. component to the program is called Operation Freedom's Sentinel.

A-T Solutions said that under the NATO contract it will develop, design and present field training material and courses to ISAF/RS advisers on advisory skills, cultural awareness, insider threat, security force assistance and other subjects.

The company will also consolidate lessons learned from training operations, which will be presented to allied forces in theater and at predeployment centers.

"We are honored to be working with NATO to support this vitally important mission," said Dennis Kelly, president and CEO of A-T Solutions. "We look forward to working closely with the Resolute Support team and Afghan National Security Forces to deliver effective advisory support and the most comprehensive training programs available to help secure communities in Afghanistan against the terrorist threat."

Information on the contract's period of performance and monetary value were not disclosed.

2015 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

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Virginia company to help NATO train Afghan troops

Poland to seek NATO response to Russia's Baltic exercises

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By Wiktor Szary and Pawel Sobczak

WARSAW Thu Jan 8, 2015 4:06pm GMT

Poland's Defence Minister Tomasz Siemoniak speaks during an interview with Reuters in his office at the Ministry of Defence in Warsaw April 10, 2014.

Credit: Reuters/Kacper Pempel

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland expects the NATO alliance to step up its military exercises around the Baltic Sea after a flurry of activity by Russian warships and jet fighters in the area last month, Defence Minister Tomasz Siemoniak told Reuters in an interview.

"What happened in December was indeed rather unprecedented," Siemoniak said. "We will definitely want the Baltic Sea to be taken into account to a greater extent, and I think that in terms of military exercises planned by NATO, there will be such a reaction," he said. The interview was conducted on Monday but authorised for release by the ministry on Thursday.

The Atlantic alliance has already increased the frequency of air patrols in the region, part of a revival of Cold War tensions sparked by Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and its support for Ukraine's pro-Russian rebels.

Siemoniak said Moscow did not have an exit strategy, and that NATO and the European Union, which has imposed sanctions on Russia together with the United States, should brace themselves for years of conflict.

"We shouldn't talk about lifting the sanctions too soon," he said, adding that they were the most effective tool at the West's disposal.

The French government in November put on hold a contract to supply Mistral warships to Russia after coming under pressure from NATO allies.

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Poland to seek NATO response to Russia's Baltic exercises

Unexploded munitions, a lingering peril as NATO ends Afghan war – Video

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Unexploded munitions, a lingering peril as NATO ends Afghan war
The end of NATO #39;s combat mission in Afghanistan could be a watershed moment in tackling unexploded ordnance littering the country, but experts complain US-led forces need to hand over more...

By: AFP news agency

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Unexploded munitions, a lingering peril as NATO ends Afghan war - Video

NATO Rotates Baltic Air Policing Force: Italian, Polish troops replace Portuguese, Canadian units – Video

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NATO Rotates Baltic Air Policing Force: Italian, Polish troops replace Portuguese, Canadian units
An official rotation ceremony has taken place at a Lithuanian NATO base, as Portuguese and Canadian contingents are replaced by the incoming Italian and Poli...

By: UKRAINE TODAY

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NATO Rotates Baltic Air Policing Force: Italian, Polish troops replace Portuguese, Canadian units - Video

In 2015 NATO shifts its focus to Europe and creation of fast-reaction 'spearhead force'

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In this Thursday, Sept. 4, 2014 file photo U.S. President Barack Obama, fourth from left, is seated at a table with, from left to right: France's President Francois Hollande, Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko, British Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi during a NATO summit at Celtic Manor in Newport, Wales. Leaving combat operations in Afghanistan behind, NATO is shifting its focus to Europe in 2015 and the creation of its new ultra-rapid reaction force, designed as a deterrent to Russia. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)(The Associated Press)

In this Dec. 28, 2014 file photo, Commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), Gen. John Campbell, right, and ISAF Gen. Hans-Lothar Domrose attend a ceremony at the ISAF headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan. Leaving combat operations in Afghanistan behind, NATO is shifting its focus to Europe in 2015 and the creation of its new ultra-rapid reaction force, designed as a deterrent to Russia. (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini, File)(The Associated Press)

In this Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2014 file photo, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg gestures while speaking during a media conference prior to a meeting of the North Atlantic Council at NATO headquarters in Brussels. Leaving combat operations in Afghanistan behind, NATO is shifting its focus to Europe in 2015 and the creation of its new ultra-rapid reaction force, designed as a deterrent to Russia. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File)(The Associated Press)

In this Thursday, Sept. 25, 2014 file photo, a Romanian military helicopter flies as troops from the United States Marine Corps Forces Europe watch, during a joint US-Romanian military exercise in Cincu, central Romania. The Joint Effort 2014 exercise is designed to test the rapid reaction capabilities of joint NATO troops and simulates the defensive strategy of an imaginary country confronted with an insurgency supported militarily by one of its neighbors. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)(The Associated Press)

In this Friday, Sept. 5, 2014 file photo, U.S. President Barack Obama listens to opening comments during a round table meeting of the North Atlantic Council at a NATO summit in Newport, Wales. Leaving combat operations in Afghanistan behind, NATO is shifting its focus to Europe in 2015 and the creation of its new ultra-rapid reaction force, designed as a deterrent to Russia. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File)(The Associated Press)

BRUSSELS Leaving combat operations in Afghanistan behind, NATO is shifting its focus to Europe in 2015 and the creation of its new ultra-rapid-reaction force, designed as a deterrent to Russia.

The priority for the 28-member alliance will be to get the new agile expeditionary force into operation, but also settling the question of who will pay for it, analysts say.

The multinational force, often called the "spearhead," was ordered into existence by President Obama and other NATO leaders in September so it could be deployed to reinforce alliance members feeling threatened by the actions or ambitions of Vladimir Putin's Russia.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has called the new force and other components of the reboot of alliance capabilities "the biggest reinforcement of our collective defense since the end of the Cold War."

Stoltenberg, now in his third month as the alliance's top-ranking civilian official, said it is his "top priority to implement this plan in full and on time."

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In 2015 NATO shifts its focus to Europe and creation of fast-reaction 'spearhead force'

NATO formally ends war in Afghanistan

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The US commander of international forces in Afghanistan has hailed the achievements of 13 years of fighting against the Taliban, as NATO formally ended its war at a ceremony in Kabul.

'Together ... we have lifted the Afghan people out of the darkness of despair and given them hope for the future,' General John Campbell told assembled NATO soldiers.

'You've made Afghanistan stronger and our countries safer.'

On January 1, the US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) combat mission, which has suffered 3485 military deaths since 2001, will be replaced by a NATO 'training and support' mission.

The ceremony was arranged in secret because the threat of Taliban strikes in the Afghan capital, which has been hit by repeated suicide bombings and gun attacks over recent years.

'I hope you take great pride in the positive impact you've made and will continue to make upon the Afghan people,' Campbell said in a speech released by ISAF on Twitter as live broadcasts were banned for security reasons.

'The road before us remains challenging, but we will triumph.'

The ceremony completed the gradual handover of responsibility to the 350,000-strong Afghan forces, which have been in charge of nationwide security since the middle of last year.

But recent bloodshed has undermined claims that the insurgency is weakening and has highlighted fears that Afghanistan faces spiralling violence.

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NATO formally ends war in Afghanistan

Long Standing Partnership Between NSPA And Ecolog, Now Also Focused On The Environment

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Dusseldorf, Germany /PRNewswire/ - NATO's integrated logistics service agency, the NATO Support Agency (NSPA) and Ecolog, the solutions provider in customized life support and logistics solutions, have been closely cooperating on projects supporting the NATO-led mission inAfghanistanfor more than a decade now.

More recently, in the context of the drawdown of troops' and consequent retrograde gearing up towards the end of their mission there, arose the necessity to dispose of, in compliance with international standards, large quantities of hazardous waste material, accumulated during more than eleven years of presence and operations in the country.

Ecolog was able to respond to the challenge, fulfilling the stringent criteria associated to an operation of such a scale and requiring large numbers of personnel, as well as equipment for the project.

A NSPA Operational Logistics Project Manager stated that Ecolog has risen to the challenge, through being flexible, though, and reactive in supporting the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Nations with the drawdown and dismantling of force establishments.

Indeed, the diversity of the waste, to include fuels, oils and lubricants, all types of batteries including lead-acid, nickel-metal hydride, dry cells, gel, nickel-cadmium and lithium, compressed gas cylinders, solvents, paints and chemical products such as pesticides and detergents, bulbs, waste containing asbestos and contaminated soils, require an exceptional range of equipment and technical skills to be disposed of in compliance with the European Commission directives and regulations.

The expertise of Ecolog in the field of Hazmat and dangerous goods and experience in operating a diversity of machines such as medical and non-medical waste incinerators, bulb crushers, oil filter crushers, aerosol piercers, refrigerant recovery machines, a wide range of recycling machines, soon to include lead acid battery recycling machine, were determinant.

Peter Esser, Group General Manager of Strategy and Development of Ecolog International, highlighted: "We are very proud to be working to support NSPA inAfghanistanand we feel we are regarded as a partner in this endeavor, which was made possible under their leadership in gathering requirements of the contingents from all the nations under a single umbrella, while safeguarding continuous quality standards."

Today, ensuring compliance inAfghanistanwith the EU directives on the incineration of waste, Ecolog currently operates twelve state-of-the-art waste incinerators, including at Kandahar Airfield and in Mazar el Sherif, equipped with flue-gas treatment and a continuous emission-monitoring system. In total so far more than 600 tons of various hazardous wastes have been collected from multiple camps, transported, consolidated and stored in dedicated centers, then segregated, treated and recycled in country for the large majority of the cases, in collaboration with local partners and otherwise shipped toGermanyto be disposed of appropriately.

Ecolog and NSPA close cooperating on several projects supporting the NATO mission inAfghanistan, of which the longest standing project started in 2007, when NSPA took over managing operations at the Kandahar Airfield on behalf of NATO. Ecolog provides and maintains there more than 600 light vehicles and dozens of heavy equipment and performs services including laundry, ablution and cleaning services for the troops.

The largest laundry facility inAfghanistanis actually in Kandahar Airfield, operated by Ecolog, where over 4,500 laundry bags have been serviced daily.Ecolog utilizes an embedded RFID tracking for automatic management and monitoring of services. Furthermore, Ecolog has provided over 200 hand-washing stations and up to 19001,600 mobile sanitation units are serviced per day, along with cleaning tens of thousands of square meters in various base facilities, in addition Ecolog collects liquid waste and operates the wastewater treatment plant, handling about 4,000 cubic meters every day.

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Long Standing Partnership Between NSPA And Ecolog, Now Also Focused On The Environment


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