Ray Henault’s highly decorated, 40 year career with the Canadian Forces began in 1968 and included the posts of Commander of 10 Tactical Air Group, Deputy Chief of the Air Staff, Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff, and culminated, in 2001, as the Chief of the Defence Staff. In 2005 he was appointed the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee in Brussels, Belgium, a position that he filled until 2008. He is a graduate of Canada’s National Defence College and the École Supérieure de guerre aérienne (ESGA) in Paris and he is an Honorary Professor at the University of Pecs, Hungary.

NATO and the International Security Dimension

Thank you Elinor, for that kind introduction. It’s a great pleasure to be back in Ottawa. I certainly can’t do a better job than Bill Graham when it comes to speaking about NATO. I do appreciate the opportunity to talk about NATO given it’s 60^th anniversary is near.

Je vais vous entretenir pour les prochaines quinze à vingt minutes selon le schéma que vous voyez devant vous, et ça me fera un plaisir de rèpondre à toutes vos questions durant la discussion qui suivra les présentations de mes duex collègues.

First, let me qualify some of my remarks. As you are all aware, I was fortunate enough to serve as the CDS from June 2001 to February 2005. During the latter part of my term, I was elected by my NATO peers to assume the position of Chairman of the NATO Military Committee (CMC), a position I held from June 2005 to June 2008.

In that capacity, I was privileged to represent all NATO chiefs of defence at NATO HQ, acted as the senior advisor to the North Atlantic Council and occupied the highest military post in the alliance.

Cette expérience m’a donné une perspective beaucoup plus large sur les activités, les défis et les réalisations de grande envergure de l’alliance, ainsi que le processus de prise de décisions par consensus dans un environnement international. Tel que demandé par les organisateurs de la conférence, je vais donc reflèter sur mon expérience de l’OTAN et du processus de prises de décision au niveau géo-stratégic.

Taking a step back for the moment, I went into the position of CMC in 2005 well armed, and I thank government for that, this assured that I was fully aware of the challenges and threats that faced NATO and these were reinforced by the Secretary General. The threats, recently reinforced by NATO’s outgoing Sec-Gen in the 60^th Anniversary Summit Communiqué, are described as Terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and the destabilizing effects of failed and failing states. Three complimentary themes have been adopted as a response: expanding operations, improving capabilities, and enhancing partnerships.

Permettez-moi d’aborder de faire commentaire sur chacun de ces thémes, en commençant par les opérations.

Les efforts prioritaires de l’OTAN, comme vous le savez, est donée à la coordination et la gestion de tout ce qui a trait aux opérations, tant au sein de la zone de responsabilité euro-atlantique qu’au delà.

Afghanistan has been a driver in this context and has been a key priority for NATO. There are several other areas where the alliance has been very busy, such as disaster relief  and humanitarian assistance. This has required the establishment of many command control mechanisms. These demands have also generated significant coordination and decision-making demands at all levels in the alliance, from the Headquarters in Brussels to the strategic commands, to the Nations themselves.

Cela a également conduit les autorités politiques et militaires de l’OTAN à faire un certain nombre de décisions importantes en ce qui concerne les opérations expéditionnaires, incluant l’utilisation élargie des nos avions AWACS, un élargissement du champ d’application des opérations Maritime de lutte antiterroriste, un raffinement de la posture opérationnelle au Kosovo et des améliorations à la mission de formation en Iraq.

Durant le sommet anniversaire de Strasbourg-Kehl en Avril de cette année, ceci a aussi amené les autorités politiques de l’OTAN à établir une mission de formation en Afghanistan et de mettre une emphase plus pointure sur la mission contre-narcotiques pour les forces de la fias.

I talk about expeditionary missions as they are important to what NATO does. At the summit heads of state were asked to consider the expansion of operations. This placed a certain demand on the nations, and allowed for harmonization of relations particularly in Afghanistan, this also extended to operations with the European Union. I hope that these gains will be capitalized on when it comes to expansion and consolidation.

It is acknowledged that the U.S is providing most of the resources for Afghanistan, other countries have participated. NATO has also expanded the scope of operations for the standing NATO maritime group for countering piracy operations off the coast of Somalia. The bottom line is that the alliance, by any measure, has truly come together in the face of high operational demand to live up to its collective responsibilities, with the help of its partners. NATO has also extended its reach far beyond its traditional Euro-Atlantic area of responsibility. These changes did come with a degree of political turmoil within the alliance that was based on consensus building which has often been difficult and divisive. Despite the successes in the lead-up to the 60^th anniversary summit and beyond, there continue to be a number of chinks in the NATO armour, particularly where common funding, burden-sharing, relations with other regional organizations and political processes are concerned. NATO also needs to take stock of political reform and needs to work to preserve the principle of consensus-based decision making in NATO. I have experienced the difficulty in finding a consensus in such a large organization and so the preservation of this type of decision making will be one of the largest challenges.

NATO also has priorities with regards to transformation or the improvement of capabilities. This cuts across a very wide spectrum, from the modernization of forces in individual nations to the development of multinational solutions to overcome shortfalls in NATO capability such as the support of the NATO response force.

La transformation fait partie intégrale de toutes les activités de l’OTAN et est dirigée par le commandant du commandement de transformation (ACT) situé à Norfolk, en Virginie. Le noveau commandant d’ACT, depuis le neuf Septembre, est le Général Stéphane Abrial, Général D’Aviation des forces Françaises. Il est le premier commandant non-Américain d’ACT et le premier officier Français à assumer un commandement au niveau 4 étoiles au sein l’OTAN depuis plus de quarante ans maintenant.  

Gen. Abrial is the lead agent for change within NATO’s military component and an important provider of support to NATO’s ongoing missions and operations. A focal point for partnership activity,  the ACT commander also provides support for NATO missions and provides advise at the political level. All of this comes with the reorganization of the NATO command structure. With the change in ACT leadership, and promotion, of a French officer we are seeing the importance of strengthening the trans-Atlantic link.

Another key component of transformation over the last several years was the establishment and nurturing of the NATO response force (NRF). It achieved full operational capability at the Riga Summit in 2006,  as a task-tailored force of 20,000-25,000 troops held at high readiness and capable of responding to calls for assistance within 5-30 days. It has been an important catalyst of transformational change across the alliance, particularly amongst the newer NATO members; however, the operational tempo was high and this made it difficult for nations to maintain. This led to the NRF now being maintained in a smaller module form with only a standing core capability. It will be important for nations to sustain this concept through strong political will and the commitment of forces as necessary to ensure that the NRF continues to provide an important rapid response capability for the alliance.

Les nations de l’OTAN continuent à réussir grandement dans de nombreux autres domains de la transformation, améliorant considérablement l’interopérabilité entre tous les alliés et les partenaires. Par exemple, la capacité de transport aérien stratégique salis (or strategic airlift interim solution), qui est devenu opérationnel en 2006 utilisant des avions Ukrainien an-124, a été un grand succés. En particulier, salis a démontré comment un consortium de nations (18, dans ce cas), peut dévouer des efforts et des ressources pour combler des insuffisances importantes en transport aérien lourd au sein de l’alliance.

Another airlift solution, the strategic airlift capability (SAC), also became operational this past summer, after three years of work by NATO HQ to establish this important force multiplier. This initiative gives several nations improved access to strategic airlift through a fleet of three C-17s based in Hungary. The first mission was flown by a Swedish crew, and this is a demonstration of how a consortium can work. Theatre missile defence has also become an important element of alliance transformational work, given the growing threat that missiles pose to deployed forces. It is expected to achieve initial operational capability to defend against the threat by 2010. In mid-September a U.S. missile system to protect European allies from the Ballistic Missile threat was cancelled by Obama.

There are a number of other areas in which changes are being pursued: Improvement of the network-enabled capability of the alliance and its partners to improve interoperability and the sharing of information and intelligence; the continuing implementation of a modern air command and control system in Europe; and the continuing development of a leaner, more streamlined, NATO command structure. There has also been considerable success in the field of training and education, including the establishment of a dedicated faculty at the NATO defence college to support NATO training for the Mediterranean dialogue and ICI countries. Many of the changes that you have heard about have not been echoed on the political side and the decision making process here is still slower than some would like it. We are hoping that that the new Sec-Gen will have better success.

Enfin, permettez-moi de dire quelques mots sur le troiséme pilier de l’agenda militaire de l’OTAN – améliorer les partenariats. Cela a formé une partie importante de mon travail quotidian à l’OTAN, en particulier lorsque d’Afghanistan a créé des exigences plus élevées pour la partage de responsabilités à tous les niveaux. Ceci est devenu plus significatif quand les opérations en Afghanistan ont pris une part de charge de plus en plus croissante, et l’OTAN aussi bien que les pays partenaires ont reconnu la valeur et importance des contributions de tous les contributeurs à la réussite des nos objectifs.

Prior to 2005, partners contributed only a few hundred troops to NATO operations. Today, partner and contact nations contribute more than 2,000 troops to the mission in Afghanistan and some 2,500 troops to operations in Kosovo. Partners also contribute to other missions in some way and there are thousands of other NGO’s that are working in many different ways. Significant efforts are expended to enhance the euro-Atlantic partnership council to improve relations with Georgia, Russia and the Ukraine. Increased contact with countries bordering Afghanistan is also being pursued. We should also be considering relations with nations such as China, India, and Iran. Significant work is also being done to improve relations with the EU and the UN all with the hope of harmonizing the relationship. This comprehensive approach will help with the overall functioning of NATO.

Alors, où se trouve ‘l’OTAN à 60’ et dans quelle direction est-ce que l’alliance se dirige au début du 21é siècle? Tout d’abord, l’OTAN demeure toujours une grand organisation internationale qui fonctionne sur le principe que tous ses membres sont sur un pied d’egalité et que chacun a un vote égal (i.e. the Consensus principle). Il arrive souvent que ça prend beaucoup de temps pour arriver à un consensus, qui est devenu de plus en plus difficile au fil de l’élargissement de l’alliance, ce qui fait que l’alliance est une cible facile à critiquer pour la lenteur de ses décisions.

L’OTAN est aussi en train de se transformer plus lentement que bon nombre le voudrait, dans quelques domains, et il y reste toujours un certain nombre d’insuffisances de capacités et des limitations qui affectent sa capacité à répondre à tous ses défis. Néanmoins, l’OTAN peut être considéré comme une organisation qui est constamment en évolution et renouvellement.

NATO has grown a great deal, has transformed from a static defence organization, has developed civilian and non military actors as well as broader issues such as enhanced maritime missions, and is working to retool its decision making mechanisms. Also, with regard to the 60^th anniversary summit, NATO reaffirmed its commitment to peace and security as well as creating a  dialogue with Russia.

Amongst other things, at the summit, the heads of state and government: reconfirmer l’importance du lien transatlantique; réiterer leur solidarité et partie prise envers la mission en Afghanistan, la priorité clé de l’OTAN, avec des contributions de forces supplémentaires, des engagements financiéres et l’établissement d’une nouvelle mission de formation; réintégrer la France à la structure OTAN, y compris la structure militaire de commandement; reçu et féliciter l’albanie et la croatie comme nouveaux membres; they also adopted a declaration on alliance security, leading to the development of a new strategic concept; appointed a new secretary general; and reaffirmed the alliance’s commitment to re-establish dialogue with Russia through the NATO/Russia council.

 In short the 60^th anniversary summit has reaffirmed the mission of NATO and it will be embedded in the strategic process.

I hope that you will all agree with me that NATO has shown significant agility and continues to be dominant in the partnership field and though it may have some chinks in its armour it has been the foremost defence and security organization and Canada, through its own contributions, has become an important member of the alliance.

Presentation Slides