US embassy cable - 05BRUSSELS4333

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BRUSSELS 004333 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR P (DBAME), EUR/ERA, AND EUR/RPM 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/08/2015 
TAGS: PREL, MOPS, EUN, USEU BRUSSELS 
SUBJECT: EUROPEAN UNION EXERCISES BATTLEGROUP COMMAND AND 
CONTROL 
 
REF: A. BRUSSELS 02569 B. BRUSSELS 01904 C. BRUSSELS 
     01164 D. BRUSSELS 04 05308 E. USEU TODAY 
     NOVEMBER 22 
 
Classified By: USEU Charge d'affaires Michael McKinley for reasons 1.4 
(b) and (d). 
 
1. (C) Summary. The EU began an exercise November 22 to test 
the Command and Control procedures linking the "political 
level" in Brussels with a Framework Nation EU Operational 
Headquarters and with a deployable Force Headquarters in the 
case of an EU Battlegroup deployment.  NATO International 
Staff elected not to observe.  The MILEX exercise was 
scheduled to end December 1. End summary. 
 
2. (C) The European Union began an exercise dubbed MILEX 05 
on November 22. The Command Post Exercise (CPX), coordinated 
by the EU Military Staff in Brussels, tested the Command and 
Control system between the "political level" in Brussels, and 
for exercise purposes, an Operational Headquarters (OHQ - 
located in Paris) and a Force Headquarters (FHQ -- located in 
Ulm Germany) for the deployment of an EU Battlegroup. (Refs 
B-D) This is the first time an EU Framework Nation OHQ has 
been activated as part of an ESDP exercise.  MILEX also 
tested the "augmentation" procedures that will provide 
additional officers for the HQ in the event of a deployment. 
The exercise was under the "guidance" of the EU's Political 
and Security Committee. The scenario for the exercise 
"supported the need" for an autonomous EU-led operation which 
required the deployment of military forces.  As in other 
recent Battlegroup seminars and workshops, the issue of 
recourse to SHAPE as the OHQ under the Berlin Plus 
arrangements was left unaddressed, as the exercises focus on 
autonomous EU-led operations. For MILEX. the specific 
scenario unfolded as growing friction between ethnic groups 
over contested territory on the fictitious island of 
"Atlantia." 
 
3. (C) MILEX 05 focused exclusively on the military aspects 
of crisis management. Some 375 "players" and supporting 
personnel took part in the exercise, scheduled to last until 
December 1.  We were told by Olaf Stocker, Defense Advisor at 
the German Representation to the EU (protect), that under 
agreed procedures, NATO was invited to observe the exercise. 
According to Ilay Ferrier (UK) in the NATO International 
Staff (IS) Operations office, it was mutually agreed that 
there would be little to be gained by NATO observing the EU 
Military Staff's "white cell" role in Brussels since the 
focus is on internal EU procedures. MILEX was briefed to NATO 
November 21, and the IS made the allies aware of the 
exercise. The EU first briefed MILEX to NATO in April 2005. 
 
4. (C) In the April session, the EU also briefed NATO on 
their planning for MILEX-06 which was to occur 27 March - 6 
April 2006.  This was to be another Command Post-type 
exercise, based on a scenario for an EU-led operation with 
recourse to NATO assets and capabilities to support the 
implementation of an EU-brokered Framework Agreement.  The 
exercise was to occur at EUMS in Brussels, with an EU OHQ at 
SHAPE, and at an activated EU Field HQ.  The scenario was to 
draw upon NATO-EU crisis management exercises from 2003, 
where D/SACEUR was previously appointed EU Op Cdr with his EU 
OHQ at SHAPE.  MILEX-06 was to focus on the interaction 
between the EU OHQ at SHAPE and an EU FHQ, in order to 
develop the Planning Guidance, draft CONOPS and SOR.  In 
June, the EU canceled its MILEX-06 exercise for a "variety of 
reasons," but most notably (per IS' Mr. Ferrier) because of 
the EU's inability to get agreement on which EU Field HQ to 
activate to support MILEX-06. 
 
5. (C) MILEX 05 represented the next step in the "natural 
progression" of the UK Presidency's goal of making ESDP more 
capable, more coherent, and more active. (See ref A.) Plans 
are already progressing for the next series of exercises in 
2007 which will test the Command and Control for 
multinational Battlegroups.  According to Lt. Colonel Bertie 
Polley of UKEU, discussions are already underway between the 
UK and Sweden, lead nation of the "Nordic Battlegroup." Each 
Battlegroup in the rotation schedule will be tied to one of 
the four identified national OHQs to be available within the 
EU. The lead nation for a multinational Battlegroup will sign 
a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the nation providing 
the OHQ setting out the details of the arrangement. Current 
plans call for OHQs to be made available by the French 
(Paris), the Germans (Potsdam), Italy (site undetermined), 
and the UK (Northwoods.) Discussions are still ongoing 
concerning possible use of the EU Operations Center to be 
established in Brussels in 2006 as an OHQ for future 
deployments. 
6. (C) Comment: MILEX was launched with great fanfare at the 
same time as the EDA Code of Conduct for Defense Procurement 
was announced.  The military implications of the exercise may 
be limited, but the move was presented politically as a 
significant enhancement of Battlegroup development. This is 
the first time an EU OHQ has been stood up for an exercise. 
Although NATO International Staff and Missions were briefed 
early in the year, the timing of the announcement caught many 
by surprise. In subsequent conversations with senior EU ESDP 
policymakers, Charge emphasized the importance of 
transparency and the need for greater dialogue on operational 
aspects related to standing up Battlegroups.  Clearly more 
needs to be done to improve communication as Battlegroup 
development proceeds. 
 
McKinley 
.