Fo (u) r Peace Central Europe

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The common logo of the four partners
Opening roll call for exercise 4 PCE 2019 on the island of Lindau in June 2019

For (u) r Peace Central Europe , occasionally, especially in informal correspondence, on logos, sleeve patches, etc. also 4 Peace Central Europe or 4-PCE or 4PCE for short (pronounced fōr-pī-cī-ī) denotes a military cooperation from military training centers in Germany , the Netherlands , Switzerland and Austria . The peculiar spelling is supposed to combine two things in one term: both the statement that there are four nations and that these (in the broader sense) act for peace in Central Europe or in close cooperation from Central Europe for world peace (in which the four nations, the Netherlands in the broader sense, geographically and culturally). The exercise and training centers are detailed

The quadrolateral cooperation includes in principle all areas of training that are offered by the centers mentioned, but the focus is on cooperation in the implementation of the “Military Expert on Mission” (UNMEoM) course, which qualifies officers as military observers.

Cooperation in the course "Military Expert on Mission" (UNMEoM)

The UNMEoM (previously or in some countries still called the United Nations Military Observer Course , UNMOC) is a three-week course that is standardized by UN guidelines. Training centers such as those in the 4-PCE association can have this course certified by the responsible Department for Peace Operations (DPO / ITS). The prerequisite is a transparent, modern and current implementation of the training that is absolutely congruent with the specifications. The course at the German UN training center was certified for the first time in 2007 by the responsible UN Department for Peace Operations (DPO); the SWISSINT course received certification for the first time in 2008. This is the case with all four training centers mentioned. Course participants are i. d. R. Officers from the rank of first lieutenant to major from in principle all member nations of the United Nations that have an army. The UNMEoM initially comprises theoretical parts and practical training at the respective location and then concludes with a so-called “Blue Flag” final exercise. The cooperation of the four partner nations through synergy effects is to the advantage of everyone, as, for example, the assignment of trainers also encourages the exchange of experience and knowledge and the resource personnel is used more efficiently. In addition, the courses gain in internationality and, thanks to trainers with individual and specific UN deployment experience, they also gain in authenticity.

Development of cooperation

The military cooperation of the training centers began, initially with purely bilateral agreements, in 1993 and initially essentially comprised the exchange of trainers. This was particularly important for the Bundeswehr, since, in contrast to the other armies mentioned, Germany was unable to gain direct experience of deployments during the Cold War through the provision of military observers within the framework of the United Nations . Over the years a quadrolateral cooperation agreement developed from this. As a platform for coordination, a Commanders' Conference (CC) with the four commanders takes place every six months and, in preparation for this, a so-called Chief Instructure Meeting (CIM) with the four training managers, each alternating in one of the Partner countries. In the meantime, following the sequence and the law of the number “4”, it has become established that in “uneven” years the CC and the CIM in spring in Austria and in autumn in the Netherlands, in “even” years in spring in the Switzerland and in autumn in Germany.

Cooperation between UN training centers is not unusual in itself. The development of this in the 4-PCE partner nations, with a timed MEoM course in the respective country and subsequent joint final exercise, is unique worldwide.

The final exercise Blue Flag - Fo (u) r Peace Central Europe

Framework data of the exercise

The steadily deepening cooperation meant that for the first time in 2009, a UN military observer training course could be organized in all four countries, which ended with a joint final exercise in the Lake Constance area.

The exercise "Blue Flag - Fo (u) r Peace Central Europe 201X" (each named after the year of implementation) is a cross-border, annual military exercise led by the four framework nations mentioned and with the participation of up to 400 soldiers and the involvement of non-military personnel (police officers, civilian role-players, representatives of NGOs, members of the ZIF, sometimes also from the local resident population). The exercise is the largest of its kind in the world.

The exercise area is located in the vicinity of Lake Constance and includes cantons of northeastern Switzerland in the south, the state of Vorarlberg in the middle and the north and primarily the district of Lindau in Bavaria , with the district of Ravensburg in Baden-Württemberg being affected in the exercise.

The area around Lake Constance was chosen because the centers from Germany, Switzerland and Austria could tactically carry out the respective partial exercises in close proximity. In addition to political reasons, there are also very pragmatic reasons in favor of this area: Soldiers in management and organizational staff can stay in their own country without crossing borders. (Since two of the four nations are not NATO countries, soldiers from the Alliance can regularly only cross the border into the neutral states with lengthy application formalities and not ad hoc). The course participants from the Netherlands were (and still are) divided between the team bases of the three sectors at the start of the exercise. Since then, international course participants from countries of all contingents have taken part in the exercise over a period of six days every summer. In 2019, for example, there were 136 exercise participants from a total of 48 nations on four continents and 400 leadership / role-playing staff.

Course of the exercise

Course participants (recognizable by their blue headgear) conducting discussions with relatives of the fictitious conflicting parties
Closing ceremony after exercise 4 PCE Blue Flag in July 2019 in Gais, Switzerland

The first introduction to the exercise takes place in the area of ​​the respective SHQ in Germany, Austria or Switzerland. At the same time, the participants from the Netherlands will be distributed. The following day, always a Friday, there is a central briefing of all exercise participants on the "operational level" in the hospital foundation on Lindau . The exercise then begins formally shortly thereafter, a few hundred meters further, with a festive opening roll call, also on the Bodensee island not far from the casino. Then the exercise participants move to their team bases in the vicinity of Lake Constance and receive a variety of assignments in the following days. These include driving patrols, taking part in reconnaissance flights with a helicopter, settling border conflicts, making arrangements with election observers, creating "village profiles", making contact with "key leaders", inspecting weapons or POW camps, monitoring the exchange of prisoners, the Monitor ceasefire and recognize, verify and report breaches of it, etc. Recognizing and, if possible, mediating / ending human rights violations is also of great importance . The exercise ends six days later with a final roll call alternating between Hittisau in Austria and Gais in Switzerland, during which the course participants receive the certificates of participation from the four commanders / commanders.

The exercise has been continuously developed since 2009 and now has the character of a "free-running exercise", i. H. The course participants act freely on problems that arise in an exercise scenario, must develop their own tactical decisions and plan resources independently. I.e. the prospective military observers have to master numerous scenarios that they can also encounter in a real mission. In addition, live on their own in fact on their team base and have to z. B. How later then in South Sudan, in the West Sahara or in Lebanon "organize" their life self-sufficient, so z. B. independently on "local markets" with a population that speaks a foreign language with food and later prepare the meals themselves in teamwork. The management organization only defines the general framework and gives follow-up orders to the assigned leader of the team bases. In 2018 the tenth anniversary of this joint exercise was celebrated. A special feature is that the special scenario enables some local residents, who are supposed to tactically represent the residents of the fictitious exercise room, to be involved in the exercise on a voluntary basis (e.g. local mayors or mayors, pastors, villagers, who belong to an assumed persecuted minority, etc.).

The United Nations sends military observers worldwide to war zones for the process of peacekeeping and peacebuilding (robust peacekeeping / peace enforcement). Your order exists u. a. in monitoring the observance of ceasefire agreements or mediating between conflicting parties. Dealing with the conflicting parties is an essential part of the training. In principle, they are deployed unarmed. Central questions are:

  • How do I get in contact with the representatives of the respective side?
  • How do I deal with the civilian population? How do I protect civilians?
  • How do I protect myself and my comrades?

Since the military observer is not armed and should act impartially, good negotiating skills and the ability to de-escalate are particularly important.

The military exercise is designed in such a way that precisely these issues are dealt with and the prospective military observers also have to cope with crises in the crisis scenario that are plausible for later real use.

The prospective UN military observers are spread over three exercise sectors in a fictional country "Centland", which is located in the exercise assumption in the Lake Constance region in Austria, Switzerland and Germany. For organizational reasons, the fictitious boundaries of the sectors run in the course of the actual national borders. The military observers operate from two “team bases” per sector, each located on one side of an assumed ceasefire line. These are in turn managed by the respective “Sector Headquarters” in Scheidegg (D), Riefensberg (A) and Appenzell (CH). The exercise has been continuously developed since 2009. In 2019, for the first time as part of the exercise, a joint operational high command (a so-called Field HQ) with officers (permanent staff of the training centers) from all four nations was set up in Hittisau , which led the aforementioned tactical SHQ from the operational level. A cross-sector exercise press was also presented for the first time, and corresponding supra-regional print media with reports from all sectors were produced and distributed. Upon successful completion of the course, the participants are qualified to be deployed as UN military observers (if their home countries are part of the OSCE, also as OSCE observers) worldwide (in the case of the OSCE in the northern hemisphere) in crisis regions.

Visits

The final exercise is regularly attended by top representatives and delegations from politics and the military from the four partner nations and high-ranking delegations from armies from other continents. In addition, the local dignitaries (mayors, district administrators, district chairmen, etc.) of the cities and municipalities, districts, districts and cantons of the exercise room are regular visitors to the exercise. In July 2016, then Federal President Joachim Gauck was a visitor to the exercise. He also took the visit as an opportunity to demand more readiness from Germany to take on responsibility on the international stage.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ AUTINT website
  2. ↑ Article on Bundeswehr.de
  3. ↑ TRAINING CENTER SWISS ARMED FORCES INTER NATIONAL COMMAND Course guide 2020, page 20
  4. ↑ Article on bundeswehr.de
  5. ↑ Reservist Association website, p. 60
  6. ↑ Lindauer Zeitung
  7. ^ Image from the roll call to Lindau
  8. ↑ Article about the 2018 closing ceremony in Hittisau
  9. ↑ Article on allgaeuhit
  10. ↑ Internet presence of the Center for International Peace Operations (ZIF)
  11. ^ Article of the Augsburger Allgemeine
  12. ↑ Article at Focus online