JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. - Headquarters Supreme Allied Commander Transformation and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff hosted the annual Allied Warfighter Talks (AWT), Nov. 8.
The AWT is an annual event co-hosted by the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (VCJCS) and NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT) with significant input from NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) and new this year, the Chair of the NATO Military Committee (CMC) to advance combined NATO and US joint warfare development, and common understanding of global operational challenges.
The scenario-based discussions challenged senior leaders at the strategic level on how we need to adapt the way we must operate, integrate, and synchronize global effects - now and in the future - and identify collective implications for warfare development.
In addition to VCJCS, CMC, SACT, SACEUR, attendance included Combatant Commanders, Vice Service Chiefs, Commander Fleet Forces Command and the two NATO Commands in Norfolk: Joint Force Command – Norfolk (dual-hatted as Commander U.S. Second Fleet) and Allied Submarine Command (dual-hatted as Commander U.S. Submarine Forces). From the Office of the Secretary of Defense the Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and the Deputy Chief Technology Officer for Science and Technology, also attended.
The theme of this year’s event was ‘Strengthening Deterrence to Manage Escalation.’ The exercise scenario was realistic and set below the threshold of armed conflict but escalating rapidly, spanning in different regions and domains. The participants considered how to complicate Russia and China decision-making and deny them the perception of military advantage in competition, by aligning US and NATO’s capacity and capability into global posturing and deterrence messaging. The AWT confirmed lessons from Ukraine’s war: societal and military resilience as well as persistent logistics are key elements of deterrence.
The AWT aimed to inform US implementation of the Joint Warfighting Concept and Joint All-Domain Command and Control, as well as generate collaboration among participants to pursue further action through exercises, sharing of information, and developed guidance. The discussions positively affected and substantially contributed to NATO’s deterrence and defense posture looking ahead to the future.
Additional topics included advances in integration, interoperability, education, and training in NATO Multi-Domain Operations and improving US/NATO C2 and the management of escalation dynamics.