Rationale:

NATO doctrine uses a monitor-assess-plan-direct model, and NATO School Oberammergau (NSO) teaches the Comprehensive Operations Planning Course (COPC (SS-54)), the Combined Joint Operations Centre Course (CJOC (P3-53)) and NATO Operations Assessment Course (P5-128) but there is no course to facilitate the transition from planning to execution, and lessons identified from multiple TRIDENT and STEADFAST Exercises in the last decade have also exposed these shortcomings.

Comprehensive Operational Planning Directive (COPD), Conceptual Framework Allied Operations (CFAO), Allied Joint Publication (AJP) - 3 and AJP - 5 provide only a limited explanation of the detailed process of synchronisation. After Action Reviews (AAR) have specifically identified the challenges of integrating lethal and non-lethal effects; cross component coordination; catering for the inclusion of cyber and counter space operations as domains; lack of knowledge of the Joint Coordination Board (JCB) process; planning sufficiently far ahead and the linkages between J5 during planning with Joint Assessment and J35/J33/J3 for execution purposes.

This performance gap is amplified in Article V, Major Joint Operations (MJO) and MJO+ scenarios where time, space, forces, and effects need to be synchronised in order to create decision superiority and overwhelm an adversary, whilst protecting the force.

Solution:

SWEDINT addresses this gap with the Practitioner, NATO Joint Synchronisation Course (JSC), which is usually delivered twice yearly, and a NATO Senior JSC once each year; for both activities NATO Nations and NATO Partner Nations of Australia, New Zealand, and Sweden can apply. Either course will be especially helpful for HQs attending NATO Exercises in 2024.