Published 24. Mar 2022 11:20
The Military Mission in Brussels (MMB) is the Norwegian military representation to NATO and is lead by Vice Admiral Louise Kathrine Dedichen. In addition to being a military adviser to the Norwegian ambassadors to NATO and the EU, Chief MMB is also the Norwegian Chief of Defense's permanent representative in NATO's highest military body, the Military Committee (MC).
In conjunction with the exercise Cold Response, Vice Admiral Dedichen invited other national representatives to the military committee to Norway. Part of the visit went to Elverum and NATO's schoolhouse for cold weather operations.
The mission of the NATO Centre of Excellence for Cold Weather Operations (COE-CWO) is to contribute to the transformation and development of NATO by sharing expertise and experience in the subject area with the Alliance. COE-CWO does this through delivering on the pillars; Education, Training, Exercise and Evaluation (ETE & E), Concept Development and Experimentation (CD&E), Doctrine Development and Standardization (DD&S) as well as Analysis and Lessons Learned (A&LL). The center also uses a network model to link the Norwegian Armed Forces' overall cold-weather expertise into these deliveries.
Director of the COE-CWO, Colonel Jo Haugom welcomed the visit at the Glomdal Museum in Elverum. The Generals and Admirals were briefed the status and current work of the COE-CWO, including how the center uses the whole Norwegian Armed Forces as a network organization to support the alliance's development and ability to conduct operations in cold weather, at all command levels and in all domains.
In early April, COE-CWO will be evaluated by a delegation from the Allied Command Transformation (ACT). The evaluation report and a possible recommendation for extension of accreditation as a "NATO Center of Excellence" goes to the Military Committee for final decision. This visit was very important for COE-CWO and Norway as a pioneer in winter and operations in cold weather.
